LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class     I  1  3 


/ 


REAR-ADMIRAL   J.   G.  WALKER,  U.  S.  N.,  PRESIDENT    OF    THE    NICARAGUA 
CANAL   COMMISSION 


THE 

NICARAGUA    CANAL 


BY 

WILLIAM   E.  SIMMONS 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK   AND   LONDON 

HARPER  &   BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 
1900 


-v 


Copyrig-ht,  1899,  by  F.  TENNYSON  NKKLY. 


Copyright,  1900,  by  WILLIAM  E.  SIMMONS. 

AU  rights  reserved. 


y 


PREFATORY    NOTE. 


IN  the  Appendix  will  be  found  the  text  of  the  bill  now 
before  Congress  to  authorize  and  provide  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Canal,  It  is  not  the  measure  referred 
to  on  pages  93  and  94.  That  was  the  bill  of  1899.  It 
was  never  allowed  to  see  the  light  by  the  House  Com- 
mittee on  Interstate  and  Foreign  Commerce,  to  which 
it  was  referred  after  passing  the  Senate.  The  commit- 
tee's failure  to  report  the  bill  was  attributed  by  the 
advocates  of  the  Canal  to  the  opposition  of  Speaker 
Eeed,  but  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  there  was  a  more 
potent  reason.  The  last  House  having  been  elected 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain  was  out  of 
touch  with  the  people,  and,  therefore,  not  aware  of  the 
earnest  and  widespread  demand  for  the  construction 
of  the  Canal  by  the  Government.  The  House,  how- 
ever, did  not  entirely  ignore  the  subject.  A  clause  was 
inserted  in  the  general  appropriation  bill  providing 
$1,000,000  for  the  continuance  of  the  Walker  Commis- 
sion, its  examination  of  the  Panama  route,  re-examina- 
tion of  the  Nicaragua  route,  and  report  as  to  which 
is  the  more  feasible.  The  Commission  has  visited 
Panama  and  is  now  in  Nicaragua,  its  surveys  being 
practically  completed. 

The  pending  bill  differs  from  its  predecessor  mainly 

224128 


in  making  a  larger  appropriation  for  the  construction 
of  the  Canal,  and  providing  for  the  fortification  of  the 
route  by  this  Government.  Mr.  Hepburn,  of  Iowa, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Interstate  and  Foreign 
Commerce,  presented  to  the  House,  February  17,  a 
unanimous  report  in  favor  of  the  passage  of  the  bill, 
and,  according  to  the  newspaper  polls,  it  is  sure  of 
speedy  passage  by  a  large  majority  in  both  branches 
of  Congress. 

About  a  week  before  the  bill  was  reported  to  the 
House,  a  draft  of  a  new  convention  with  Great  Britain 
on  the  subject,  termed  the  Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty,  was 
submitted  to  the  Senate  for  ratification.  This  abrogates 
the  Clayton -Bulwer  Treaty,  but  provides  for  the  neu- 
trality of  the  Canal  in  war  as  well  as  peace.  This  last 
feature  has  evoked  a  somewhat  noisy  opposition  to  the 
treaty,  but  the  spokesmen  for  the  administration  claim 
to  be  confident  of  a  safe  majority  for  it. 

THE  AUTHOK. 

February  21,  1900. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY — Geographical  Features ;  Topography ;  Phys- 
ical Aspects  of  the  Country;  Industries,  Products, 
Climate  and  Health 11 

CHAPTER  II. 

GOVERNMENT,  POPULATION,  HISTORY — Form  of  Government ; 
Powers  of  the  President;  Financial,  Educational,  Mili- 
tary, and  Ecclesiastical  Affairs ;  Number,  Race  Distinc- 
tion and  Characteristics  of  the  Inhabitants;  Discovery; 
Conquest ;  Treatment  of  the  Conquered  People ;  Separa- 
tion from  Spain ;  Subsequent  History 27 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  GREAT  WATERWAY — Antiquity  of  the  Idea  of  Connect- 
ing the  Two  Oceans  by  Canal ;  Negotiations,  Government 
Surveys,  etc.,  which  have  Led  up  to  the  Enterprise; 
History  of  the  Company;  the  Work  Done  and  Remaining 
to  be  Done 56 

CHAPTER  IV. 

FROM  GREYTOWN  TO  THE  LAKE — The  Forest  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast ;  the  San  Juan  River ;  Flora  and  Fauna ;  Towns 
Along  the  River ;  Scenery,  etc 107 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  GREAT  LAKE — Lakes  Nicaragua  and  Managua;  Vol- 
canoes, Scenery,  Navigation,  Trade,  etc 154 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PACIFIC  SLOPE — Difference  in  Climate  and  Vegetation 
from  the  Atlantic  Coast,  the  Cities  of  Granada,  Masaya, 
Managua,  Leon,  Chinandega,  Rivas  and  Others 185 


CHAPTER  VIT.  PAGE 

THE  PEOPLE — Manners,  Customs,  Peculiarities,  Dress;  Means 
of  Transportation;  Trade;  Industries;  Accommdations 
for  Travelers 227 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

ARCHAEOLOGY  —  Temples;  Stone  Monuments;  Sculpture; 
Pottery ;  Language 260 

CHAPTER  IX. 
As  A  WINTER  RESORT — Attractions  for  the    Tourist     and 

Sportsman ;  Game,  Fish,  etc 302 

APPENDIX..  ..333 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


REAR-ADMIRAL  J.  G.  WALKER,  U.S.N.,  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 

NICARAGUA   CANAL  COMMISSION Frontispiece. 

BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  THE  NICARAGUA  CANAL,  AS  PLANNED  Facing  x 

LOOKING  UP  THE  SAN  JUAN  RIVER 13 

NATIVE  GIRL — NEGRO  TYPE 37 

VIEW  ON  THE  LOWER  RIO  GRANDE 43 

VIEW  ON  THE  RIO  GRANDE '  .  .  .  .  55 

OLD  SPANISH  FORT  AT  CASTILLO  VIEJO,  SAN  JUAN  RIVER  .  57 

HEAD  OF  THE  BALAS  RAPIDS,  SAN  JUAN  RIVER 69 

MOUTH  OF  THE  CANAL.  GREYTOWN  HARBOR 81 

INDIAN  WOMEN  IN  HOLIDAY  ATTIRE 91 

WOMEN  WASHING  CLOTHES  ON  THE  SHORE  OF  LAKE  NICARAGUA  99 

MOUTH  OF  THE  SAN  CARLOS  RIVER  FROM  SAN  JUAN  .  .  .  .  106 

CORINTO,  FROM  STEAMER  "  SAN  BLAS  " 117 

NATIVES— NEGRO  AND  INDIAN  TYPES 127 

PATIO  OF  MR.  MORRIS'S  HOUSE,  MANAGUA 137 

RAPIDS  AT  CASTILLO  VIEJO,  FROM  THE  FORT 147 

SAN  CARLOS— LAKE  NICARAGUA,  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  SAN 

JUAN  RIVER 153 

RUINED  DREDGES,  GREYTOWN  HARBOR 159 

LAKE  NICARAGUA — ABOUT  THREE  MILES  OFF-SHORE  ....  167 
COLONEL  PETER  C.  HAINS,  U.S.A.,  MEMBER  OF  THE  NICARAGUA 

CANAL   COMMISSION 175 


PAGE 

VOLCANIC  ISLAND,  MOMOTOMBITO,  LAKE  MANAGUA     ....  197 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  PALACE  IN  MANAGUA,  CAPITAL  OF  NICARAGUA  207- 

LOOKING  UP  SAN  JUAN  RIVER  FROM  FORT  AT  CASTILLO  VIEJO  211 

LOOKING  DOWN  SAN  JUAN  RIVER— STATION  463C 221 

INDIAN  GIRL  CARRYING  WATER-JAR 233 

RAILROAD  SHOPS,  MANAGUA 245 

MOUTH  OF  RIO  FRIO  FROM  LAKE  NICARAGUA 259 

LOOKING  UP  THE  SAN  JUAN  RIVER— HEAD  OF  THE  TORO  RAPIDS  269 
PROFESSOR  L.  M.  HAUPT,  MEMBER  OF  THE  NICARAGUA  CANAL 

COMMISSION 281 

MACHUCA  RAPIDS,  SAN  JUAN  RIVER 309 

VIEW  ALONG  THE  LAKE  SHORE  AT  FORT  SAN  CARLOS    .          ,  319 


THE    NICARAGUA   CANAL. 


UNCLE  SAM'S  NEW  WATERWAY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

INTRODUCTORY . 

THE  Land  of  the  Great  Water!  That  was 
the  poetic  idea  embodied  in  the  ancient  Indian 
name  of  which  the  Spanish  corruption  is  Nic- 
aragua. The  Indians  displayed  comparatively 
wide  topographical  knowledge,  as  well  as  poet- 
ical sentiment,  in  naming  their  country,  as  it 
is  distinguished  by  the  largest  lake  to  be  found 
within  the  entire  reigon  of  Aztec  occupation. 
But  even  that  is  not  the  whole  truth,  for  there 
is  no  other  body  of  fresh  water  of  like  magni- 
tude between  Lake  Michigan  and  Lake  Titicaca 
in  Peru.  And  the  name  itself,  after  centuries 
have  rolled  by,  after  the  civilization  which 
coined  it  has  vanished  from  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  after  its  fitness  has  been  verified  by 

thorough  exploration  of    the  American  conti- 
A  i 


ftent,  is  now  about  io  acquire  new  point  and  in- 
ereas^d^ significance  by  the  march  of  modern 
improvement.  For  who  can  doubt  that  when 
the  great  enterprise  planned  by  American 
genius  and  undertaken  by  American  capital,  is 
carried  to  successful  completion,  Nicaragua 
will  come  to  be  known  as  the  Land  of  the 
Great  Waterway;  the  interoceanic  highway 
between  the  nations  of  the  East  and  the  nations 
of  the  West? 

If  the  reader  will  hold  his  right  hand  open, 
with  the  palm  upward  and  the  thumb  close  to 
the  side,  he  can  get  a  concise  and  convenient 
idea  of  the  general  configuration  of  the  country. 
On  the  side  of  the  thumb  he  will  have  the 
Atlantic,  on  the  other  the  Pacific  Ocean,  while 
in  the  hollow  of  his  hand  he  will  hold  the  great 
lake.  The  irregular  line  at  the  junction  of  the 
wrist,  and  to  the  right  of  the  center,  will  mark 
the  course  of  the  noble  San  Juan  River,  flowing 
to  the  Atlantic  along  the  eleventh  parallel  of 
north  latitude,  carrying  off  the  water  of  the 
lake,  and  forming,  for  the  greater  part  of  its 
course,  the  Costa  Rican  boundary,  which  also 

extends  westward  of  the  lake  along  the  same 

2 


line.  The  tip  of  the  thumb  will  indicate  tho 
position  of  Cape  Gracias,  at  the  northeastern 
extremity  on  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  an  irregu- 
lar line  thence  to  the  Bay  of  Fonseca,  at  the 
base  of  the  little  finger,  the  boundary  of  Hon- 
duras. The  Bay  of  Fonseca  separates  the  Pen- 
insula of  Coseguina,  which  is  the  northwestern 
extremity  of  Nicaragua,  from  the  southern  end 
of  Salvador.  At  the  tip  of  that  peninsula 
stands  the  famous  volcano  Coseguina,  which, 
although  it  had  the  appearance  for  centuries  of 
being  dead,  suddenly  burst  into  activity  in 
1835,  and  covered  the  country  with  a  pall  of 
dust  and  smoke  for  four  days.  That  was  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  eruptions  of  which 
history  has  any  record.  The  dust  fell  over 
1,500  miles  of  land  and  water,  from  Jamaica  in 
the  West  Indies  to  Bogota  in  South  America. 

Nicaragua  extends  over  four  and  a  half  de- 
grees of  latitude  and  longitude.  It  lies  be- 
tween 10°  30'  and  15°  north  latitude,  and  83°  11' 
and  87°  40'  west  longitude.  Its  southern  fron- 
tier extends  over  about  one  and  three  quarter, 
and  its  northern  frontier  over  four  and  a  half 
degrees  of  longitude.  Its  Atlantic  coast  line 

3 


stretches  for  280  miles  southward  from  Cape 
Gracias  a  Dios  to  Grey  town,  or  San  Juan  del 
Norte,  at  the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan  River,  and 
its  Pacific  coast  line  from  Salinas  Bay  north- 
ward to  Coseguina,  a  distance  of  about  200 
miles.  The  area  of  the  country  is  58,500 
square  miles.  The  Atlantic,  or,  as  it  is  usually 
called,  the  Mosquito  Coast,  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  inhabited  by  the  Mosquito  Indians,  is  low, 
swampy,  and  fringed  with  numerous  reefs  and 
islands,  the  chief  of  the  latter  being  Great  and 
Little  Corn,  Old  Providence,  Longreef  and  Tang- 
weera.  The  two  lag@ons  of  Pearl  Cay  and  Blue- 
fields  afford  good  harbors  for  vessels  of  light 
draft,  but  the  best  harbor  on  the  coast  is  that 
of  Greytown.  Although  accessible  forty  years 
ago  to  the  largest  ships,  the  shifting  southward 
of  the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan  Eiver,  about 
1866,  closed  up  the  entrance,  and  converted  the 
harbor  into  a  lagoon,  without  any  outlet  to  the 
ocean.  The  harbor  remained  closed  until  1890, 
when  it  was  opened  again  by  the  commence- 
ment of  work  on  the  Nicaragua  Canal.  The 
^Pacific  Coast,  on  the  other  hand,  is  bold  and 
rocky,  free  from  islands  or  reefs,  and  indented 

4 


by  several  safe  and  commodious  harbors  jac-.., 
cessible  to  any~vessels.  The  chief  of  these  are 
San  Juan  del  Sur  and  liealejo,  which  has  been 
called  "as  good  a  port  as  any  in  the  known 
world."  Brito,  which  is  often  spoken  of  as  a 
port,  is  nothing  more  than  an  open  roadstead, 
formed  by  a  depression  of  the  Coast  line. 

Along  the  Atlantic  coast  the  land  is  flat,  gen- 
erally speaking,  from  six  to  eight  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  and  characterized  by  few 
eminences,  and  it  preserves  these  features  for 
twenty  to  forty  miles  in  the  interior.  Then  it 
rises  rapidly  in  the  foothills  of  the  Cordilleras 
of  the  Andes.  This  range  declines  southward 
toward  the  valley  of  the  San  Juan,  where  the 
mean  elevation  is  less  than  500  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  ocean,  and  there  is  nowhere  a  peak 
more  than  2,000  feet  high,  but  northward, 
toward  the  Honduras  frontier  and  throughout 
the  extensive  districts  of  Chontales,  Mata- 
galpa  and  Segovia,  it  rises  to  an  average 
height  of  4,000  to  5,000  feet.  On  the  side  of 
the  lake  the  descent  is  sharp,  but  toward  the  At- 
lantic the  decline  is  in  a  succession  of  broad  ter- 
race-like plateaus  broken  by  disconnected  peaks. 

5 


The  most  striking  geographical  feature  of  the 
country  "is  the  remarkable  depression  stretch- 
ing for  about  300  miles  northwest  and  south- 
east parallel  with  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  trans- 
versely to  the  Central  American  plateau,  which 
it  almost  completely  interrupts.  This  depres- 
sion, which  lies  at  a  mean  elevation  of  scarcely 
100  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  is  now 
flooded  by  the  two  great  lakes  of  Managua  and 
Nicaragua  (Cocibolca),  which  collect  nearly  all 
the  drainage  of  the  western  provinces,  dis- 
charging it  through  the  desaguadero  (outlet)  of 
the  Kio  San  Juan  to  the  Atlantic/'  Lake  Nic- 
aragua is  a  magnificent  body  of  water,  about 
125  miles  long  and  from  forty  to  seventy-five 
miles  wide.  From  the  middle  of  the  lake  the 
shore  line  on  either  side  is  invisible,  and  the 
only  land  in  sight  are  the  distant,  lofty  peaks 
which  surround  it  on  nearly  all  sides.  The 
mean  level  of  the  lake  is,  as  determined  by 
actual  surveys  for  the  purposes  of  the  canal, 
110  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  at  Grey- 
town.  North  of  the  Great  Lake  and  only  six- 
teen miles  distant,  lies  Lake  Managua,  which, 
however,  is  twenty -four  feet  above  its  level. 


The  two  lakes  are  practically  disconnected,  but 
there  is  a  channel,  the  Rio  Tipitapa,  through 
which  the  upper  lake  discharges  its  overflow 
into  the  lower  in  times  of  flood.  Lake  Mana- 
gua is  about  fifty  miles  long  by  thirty-five 
miles  wide. 

West  of  the  lakes  the  depression,  throughout 
its  entire  length  "is  traversed  by  a  remarkable 
volcanic  chain  of  isolated  cones,  which  north  of 
the  lakes  takes  the  name  of  the  Maribios  (the 
Marvels),  terminating  in  the  extreme  northwest 
with  Coseguina  (4,000  feet  high),  and  in  the 
extreme  southeast  with  the  low  wooded  archi- 
pelagoes of  Solentiname  and  Chichicaste,  near 
the  head  of  the  desaguadero.  Between  these 
two  extremes  the  chief  cones  proceeding  south- 
ward are:  the  Maribios  chain,  comprising  El 
Viejo  (6,000  feet),  Santa  Clara,  Telica,  Orota, 
Las  Pilas,  Axosco,  Momotombo  (7,000  feet, 
highest  point  in  the  state),  all  crowded  close 
together  between  the  Gulf  of  Fonseca  and 
Lake  Managua;  Masaya,  or  Popocatepec,  and 
Mombacho  (5,700  feet),  near  Granada;  lastly, 
in  Lake  Nicaragua,  the  two  islands  of  Zapatera 
and  Qmetepec,  with  its  twin  peaks  Ometepec 


and  Medeira."  The  "Encyclopaedia  Britannica," 
from  which  the  foregoing  quotation  is  made, 
gives  the  height  of  Ometepec  and  Mederia  as, 
respectively,  4,100  and  4,190  feet,  but  that  is  an 
error.  Ometepec,  which  is  the  taller  of  the 
two  by  fully  twenty -five  per  cent.,  is  about 
5,280  feet  high. 

There  is  a  remarkable  difference  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  country  east  and  west  of  the  lakes, 
as  far  as  vegetation  is  concerned.  The  moun- 
tain sides  and  plateaus  of  the  eastern  slope  are 
covered,  except  where  broad  savannas  occur  in 
the  Chontales,  Matagalpa  and  Segovia  districts, 
with  a  dense  tropical  forest  of  stupendous  and 
apparently  primeval  growth.  The  mountain 
sides  and  tablelands,  on  the  western  slope,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  rather  sparsely  covered 
with  vegetation,  and  where  trees  occur,  except 
in  the  valleys  of  the  larger  streams,  they  are 
generally  of  stunted  growth.  Again,  east 
of  the  lakes  the  country  is  perennially 
clothed  in  green,  while  west  of  the  lakes,  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  dry  season,  January  to 
May,  the  aspect  of  the  landscape  is  sere  and 
rusty.  Throughout  the  Maribios  district  occur 

8 


mal  pais  or  barren  lava  fields,  but  the  great 
plain  of  Conejo  in  that  district  and  the  even  more 
extensive  plain  of  Leon,  west  of  the  range, 
are  fertile  and  thickly  populated.  Fur- 
ther southward  the  districts  of  Managua, 
Granada  andEivas  are  traversed  by  a  low  range 
of  hills,  called  the  Coast  Kange.  Here  the 
mean  level  of  the  land  is  less  than  100  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  lakes,  and  except  the 
mountains  Mombacho  and  Masaya,  already 
spoken  of,  there  are  no  peaks  more  than  2,000 
feet  high.  A  few  miles  south  of  Rivas  the 
land  falls  to  the  lowest  elevation  found  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  of  the  American  continent.  At 
the  highest  point  it  is  only  forty-one  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  lake  (Nicaragua)  and  142  above 
highwater  mark  on  the  Pacific. 

The  .physical  aspects  of  the  country  have 
been  indicated  in  a  general  way  in  what  has 
gone  before,  but  they  may  be  spoken  of  more 
particularly  before  proceeding  further.  Jour- 
neying westward  from  the  Atlantic  Coast,  the 
traveler  crosses  first  the  flat  forest.- covered  lands, 
characterized  chiefly  by  black  alluvial  soil,  then 
encounters  rising  ground  still  densely  wooded, 

9 


where  rocks  and  clay  crop  out  of  the  loam. 
This  rising  ground  soon  becomes  mountainous, 
declining  in  altitude  toward  the  valley  of  the 
San  Juan,  in  the  south,  and  increasing  in  alti- 
tude toward  the  north,  where  in  Chontales, 
Matagalpa  and  Segovia,  occur  broad  tablelands 
and  savannas  at  great  elevations,  above  the  sea. 
From  the  summit  of  this  mountain  range  the 
descent  is  sharp  to  the  basin  of  the  lakes.  On 
the  Pacific  coast,  the  great  volcanic  range,  be- 
ginning in  the  north  at  the  Gulf  of  Fonseca, 
breaks  away,  west  of  the  lakes,  into  a  series  of 
plains  of  no  considerable  elevation  above  the 
level  of  the  lakes,  but  with  a  sensible  decline 
southward  to  the  locality  of  Rivas.  From 
some  distance  above  Leon  to  Rivas,  a  distance 
of  100  miles,  the  land  is  mostly  cleared  or 
sparsely  wooded  as  compared  with  the  Atlantic 
slope.  South  of  Rivas,  about  eight  miles,  are 
extensive  "jicarals"  (pronounced  hic'-o-rals),  or 
barren  plains  sparsely  wooded  with  the  jicara 
tree  and  a  peculiar  shrub  called  the  bull's 
thorn.  It  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection 
that  plains  of  the  same  character  occur  in  the 

districts  east  of  the  lakes.     Further  south  than 

10 


the  jicarals  near  Rivas,  the  land  rises  again  to 
form  the  Santa  Clara  hills  and  becomes  heavily 
wooded. 

North  of  Granada,  which  is  on  the  west  shore 
of  Lake  Nicaragua,  near  its  head,  occur  volcanic 
lakelets,  such  as  that  of  Masaya,  beside  the 
Indian  town  of  the  same  name.  These  are 
crater-like  openings  in  the  earth,  and  are  filled 
with  water,  the  level  of  which  is  in  some  in- 
stances more  than  300  feet  below  the  surface  of 
the  earth.  Higher  up  north,  throughout  the 
region  of  the  Maribios,  occur  numerous  infer- 
nillos  or  low  mounds,  which  send  forth  sul- 
phurous smoke,  and  at  night  blue  flames  that 
give  a  weird  illumination  to  the  surrounding 
country.  Indeed,  the  evidences  of  vqlcanic 
energy  are  so  numerous  and  plain,  throughout 
this  part  of  the  country,  as  to  justify  the  re- 
mark of  Squier  that:  "No  other  region  of  equal 
extent  probably  betrays  so  marked  traces  of 
igneous  action  as  that  portion  of  Nicaragua  in- 
tervening between  its  lakes  and  the  Pacific. " 
It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  those 
traces  are  much  less  remarkable  south  of 
Masaya  than  north  of  it.  Throughout  the 


^western_par.t_.  of  Nicaragua  the  soil  is  a  reddish 
loam,  which,  under  the  influence  of  the_periodic 
rains,  or  of  irrigation,  is  extremely  fertile. 
During  the  latter  part  of  the  dry  season,  how- 
ever, the  country  generally  has  a  dusty  and 
desolate  appearance. 

There  are  no  rivers  worthy  of  the  name  emp- 
tying into  the  Pacific,  although  there  are 
numerous  deep  ravines,  which  in  the  rainy  sea- 
son become  the  beds  of  rushing  torrents.  The 
same  remark  is  applicable  to  the  streams  that 
flow  into  the  lakes,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Bio  Frio  and  the  Rio  Negro,  which  flow  into  the 
southern  part  of  Lake  Nicaragua,  and  the  Rio/ 
Synagapa,  which  empties  into  the  northern 
part  of  Lake  Managua.  The  first  named  is  a 
bold  river  and  the  other  two  are  considerable 
streams.  Several  important  rivers  flow,  how- 
ever, from  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Cordilleras 
to  the  Atlantic.  The  nearest  of  these  to  the 
Honduras  border  is  the.£Jpjca,  called  also  the 
Wanks  and  the  Segovia,  and  by  the  Indians  of 
the  highlands  the  Telpaueca.  This  river  is 
several  hundred  miles  long  and  it  empties  into 

the  Atlantic  not  far  below  Cape  Gracias,  after 

12 


flowing  through  a  comparatively  unexplored 
territory.  Further  south  is  the  Wama  or  Sisin 
Creek,  and,  still  proceeding  south,  the  Rio 
Grande  Great  River  or  Amaltara,  the  Escan- 
dida,  Bluefields,  or  Rio  del  Desastre,  which  is 
also  a  large  stream  of  considerable  length,  and 
noted  as  having  once  been  a  favorite  retreat  for 
the  pirates  of  the  Spanish  Main.  Lastly  comes 
the  San  Juan  River,  which  is  the  only  one  of 
the  rivers  of  Nicaragua  that  has  been  thor- 
oughly explored  from  the  ocean  to  its  source, 
and,  in  addition  to  being  the  best  known,  is  the 
most  important  in  the  country.  -4t-  is,  as  has 
already  been  said,  the  desaguadero,  or  o_utlet, 
of  Lake  Nicaragua,  and  from  its  head  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  lake  to  its  mouth  at  the  ocean, 
is  about  125  miles  long.  For  about  half  its 
length  it  is  a  sluggish  though  deep  and  broad 
stream,  but  after  receiving  the  waters  of  the 
San  Carlos  from  the  mountains  of  Costa  Rica,  it 
is  rapid  and  exceeding^  turbid.  Throughout 
its  course  it  is  300  to  400  yards  wide,  and,  ex- 
cept at  the  rapids,  over  twenty  feet  deep.  Its 
navigation  is  impeded  by  four  rapids,  three  of 
which  are  passable  during  the  rainy  season  to 

15 


steamers  of  light  draft  and  moderate  power. 
These  rapids,  in  the  order  of  their  occurrence 
proceeding  upstream,  are  the  Machuca,  the 
Balas,  the  Castillo  and  the  Toro.  The  distance 
between  the  first  and  second  is  six  miles,  arid 
the  same  between  the  second  and  third,  while 
it  is  nine  miles  between  the  third  and  last. 
The  Castillo  rapids  are  generally  impassable. 
There  is  much  conflict  of  testimony  as  to  the 
navigability  of  the  river  in  the  early  days  of 
Spanish  colonization.  Some  of  the  old  chroni- 
cles speak  of  ships  as  sailing  from  Spain  direct 
to  Granada  on  the  west  shore  of  the  lake,  and 
it  has  been  asserted  to  account  for  the  existing 
obstructions  to  navigation,  that  the  rapids  were 
formed  by  the  Spaniards  throwing  rocks  into 
the  river  to  bar  the  passage  of  English  ships 
during  the  wars  between  the  two  countries  in 
the  seventeenth  century.  The  character  of  the 
rapids,  however,  makes  that  explanation  a 
manifest  absurdity.  Probably  the  truth  is 
that  in  times  of  very  high  water  the  rapids 
were  passable  to  vessels  such  as  the  Spaniards 
used  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  one  or  two 
of  these  might  have  reached  Granada  and  given 

16 


rise  to  the  statements  contained  in  the  chroni- 
cles. 

Of  the  circumstances  which  determine  the 
commercial  importance  of  a  country,  few  take 
rank  with  the  character  and  variety  of  its  pro- 
ductions. The  products  of  Nicaragua  are  use- 
ful and  varied,  and  only  the  development  of 
her  industries  is  needed  to  yield  them  in  vast 
quantities.  A  passing  glance  at  the  geology  of 
the  country  will  introduce  a  large  class  of 
natural  products.  West  of  the  lakes  the  soft 
volcanic  rocks,  or  tufas,  which  make  excellent 
building  material,  abound  upon  the  surface  or 
within  easy  reach  of  it,  while  along  with  these 
occur  sulphurous  pumice  and  other  recent  vol- 
canic formations.  East  of  the  lakes  are  found 
in  great  quantities  andesite  rocks,  trachytes, 
greenstone,  and  in  the  Cordilleras,  metallifer- 
ous porphyries  abounding  in  gold  and  silver 
quartz.  Gold  mining  has  long  been  carried  on, 
though  not  with  very  great  success,  by  an  Eng- 
lish company,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Libertad 
in  the  Chontales  district,  and  silver  mining, 
with  better  results,  in  the  Matagalpa  and  Sego- 
via districts.  According  to  recent  reports,  more 

B  17 


important  discoveries  of  gold  have  been  made 
in  previously  unexplored  parts  of  Segovia, 
and  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Chontales  dis- 
trict, near  the  head  of  the  Savallo  River, 
which  flows  into  the  San  Juan  a  short  distance 
above  Castillo.  The  .difficulty  of  transporting 
suitable  machinery  through  the  dense  forests 
and  over  the  steep  mountains  has  hitherto 
stood  in  the  way  of  successful  mining  on  a 
large  scale,  so  that  the  output  of  the  precious 
metals  has  seldom  exceeded  $200,000  per  an- 
num. The  vast^ forests  that  cover  the  country, 
over  a  wide  extent  of  territory,  without  a 
break  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  lakes,  abound 
in  woods,  gums,  medicinal  and  flavoring  plants, 
all  of  value  and  already  known  to  com- 
merce. Among  the  first  are  mahogany,  cedars, 
rosewood,  ironwood,  logwood  and  many  other 
dyewoods;  among  the  second,  rubber  and  gum 
copal;  and  among  the  last,  vanilla  and  sarsapa- 
rilla. 

The  cultivated  portion  of  Nicaragua  consti- 
tutes but  a  small  part  of  its  total  area.    A 
,  comparatively    insignificant     section     of     the 
Chontales  district,  with  larger  portions  of  the 

18 


Matagalpa  and  Segovia  districts,  are  under  cul- 
tivation east  of  the  lakes.  West  of  the  lakes 
the  area  of  cultivation  extends  from  the  plain 
of  Cone  jo  south  t,o  Kivas,  over  a  stretch  of 
country  from  twenty  to  forty  miles  wide  and 
more  than  100  miles  long.  There  are,  how- 
ever, large  tracts  of  uncultivated  land  inter- 
spersed between  the  cultivated  tracts,  even  in 
that  section.  The  staple  products  are  corn, 
rice,  sugar,  beans,  cotton,  tobacco,  coffee_and 
cocoa.  X"~great  variety  of  vegetables  is  also 
raised.  Coffee  raising  has  been  largely  devel- 
oped within  the  last  five  years,  and  a  govern- 
ment bounty  of  five  cents  per  tree  is  stimulat- 
ing it  to  further  extension.  The  coffee  tree 
flourishes  only  at  comparatively  high  altitudes, 
but  the  numerous  mountain  sides  afford  a  wide 
field  for  its  cultivation.  The  slopes  of  Omete- 
pec  and  Medeira,  in  Lake  Nicaragua,  have  long 
been  covered  with  coffee  plantations,  which  are 
among  the  most  productive  in  the  country.  The 
nature  of  the  climate  makes  a  succession  of 
crops  possible.  Sugar  yields  two  to  three 
crops  during  the  year,  and  ooriL  which  is  the 


staple  food   of  the  Indian  population,  yields 

1  9 


four  crops.  Nicaragua  is  indeed  a  fruitful  land, 
for  its  variety  of  fruits  is  astonishing.  Ba- 
nanasjlantains,  guavas,  and  many  others  grow 
wild  in  the  forests,  but  the  two  first  named  are 
of  course  greatly  improved  by.  cultivation. 
Mango  trees,  burdened  with  fruit,  form  hedges 
along  the  highways  in  the  Kivas  district. 
Oranges,  lemons  and  limes  abound  throughout 
the  western  provinces,  while  watermelons, 
muskmelons,  and  citrons,  are  to  be  had  all  the 
year  round.  Another  product  usually  classed 
as  a  fruit,  but  in  reality  a  vegetable,  and  with- 
out an  equal  for  a  salad,  is  the  alligator  pear. 

The  cultivation  of  cacao  is  a  profitable  indus- 
try. The  government  gives  a  bounty  of  ten 
cents  for  every  tree  planted,  and  it  is  said  that 
every  pound  of  the  beans  raised  can  be  sold  in 
the  home  market  for  consumption  at  fifty  cents. 
The  famous  Paris  house  of  Menier  has  a  large 
plantation  in  the  Rivas  district. 

Besides  the  products  of  the  soil  an  important 
industry  is  cattle  raising.  Large  herds  are 
bred  both  in  the  eastern  and  western  provinces, 
and Jades  form  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  ex- 
port. The  eastern  part  of  the  country,  how- 

20 


ever,  is  the  better  adapted  to  the  raising  of 
cattJe,  as  in  the  western  provinces  the  animals 
suffer  greatly  from  thirst  during  the  prolonged 
droughts,  when  all  the  streams  are  dried  up 
and  dependence  for  water  is  placed  almost  en- 
tirely on  wells,  where  cattle  are  watered  at 
fifty  cents  per  head  per  month.  The  foreign 
trade  of  the  country  is  as  yet  comparatively 
trifling,  the  exports  being  only  about  $3,000,000 
and  the  imports  about  $3,500,000  per  annum. 
The  principal  ports  are  Oreytown  and  Blue- 
fields  on  the  Atlantic,  and  Corinto  and  San 
Juan  del  Sur  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  climate  of 
a  country  exercises  as  potent  influences  on  its 
inhabitants  as  do  their  inherited  tendencies; 
for  where  races  are  concerned,  the  inherited 
tendencies  are  largely  determined  by  climatic 
conditions.  But  little  has  beep  said  of  the  cli- 
mate of  Nicaragua  in  English-speaking  coun- 
tries and  that  little  is  in  the  main  inaccurate. 
When  the  author,  in  the  early  winter  of  1891, 
mentioned  to  his  friends  that  he  thought  of 
going  to  Nicaragua,  they  with  ono  accord  at- 
tempted to  dissuade  him  from  taking  the  trip. 

21 


In  explanation  of  their  solicitude  it  was 
affirmed  that  it  was  dangerous  for  a  white  man 
even  to  enter  the  country;  that  yellow  fever 
generally,  and  Chagres  fever  always  prevailed 
.  there.  That  is  unquestionably  a  fair  statement 
of  the  popular  opinion  prevailing  in  the  United 
States  on  the  subject.  Nevertheless  the 
author  went,  and  although  subjected  to  un- 
usual exposure,  even  for  a  native,  his  expe- 
rience was  that  he  never  enjoyed  better  health 
in  his  life  than  during  his  stay  in  the  country. 
It  is  said  by  a  very  high  authority  that  on  the 
uplands  of  Chontales  and  Segovia,  2,000  to 
3,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  cli- 
mate is  mild  and  healthy  and  generally  suited 
for  white  men,  but  elsewhere  it  is  distinctively 
teopical,  and  the  Mosquito  coast  is  malarious. 
Grgytown  is  on  the  Mosquito  coast,  yet  it  may 
well  be  doubted  if  there  is  more  malaria  there 
than  in  some  parts  of  New  Jersey.  Some 
trustworthy  testimony  on  that  point  will  be 
given  below.  In  the  meantime  something 
must  be  said  about  the  climate  of  the  country 
in  general. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  between  the 

22 


. 

temperature  on  cne  east  and  the  west  coasts. 
No  accurate  statistics  are  to  be  had  concerning 
the  wosjbj3oast,  but  if  the  feelings  are  to  be 
trusted,  the  latter  is  the_  hotter  by  at  least  ten 
degrees.  Indeed  there  is  very  good  reason 
why  it  should  be.  Nicaragua  lies  within  the 
zone  of  the  northeast  trade  winds,  which, 
except  in  the  rainy  season,  are  denuded  of  their 
moisture  by  the  mountain  range  east  of  the 
lakes  before  they  reach  the  west  coast  and 
are,  consequently,  when  they  reach  it  com- 
paratively hot  and  dry.  Greytown  is  a  hot 
place  because  it  is  built  on  low  ground  and  shut 
off  from  the  sea  by  a  thick  wood,  but  America, 
the  canal  company's  settlement,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  harbor,  being  open  to  the  sea  is 
swept  by  a  perpetual  gale,  and,  so  far  as  tem- 
perature is  concerned,  is  a  more  delightful 
place  than  Long  Branch. 

Qn  the  west  coast  rain  seldom  if  ever  falls 
between  December  and  May,  but  ojx,  the  east 
coast,  contrary  to  the  general  impression  pre- 
vailing outside  of  the  country,  there  is,  as 
shown  by  the  recorded  observations  of  the 
canal  company's  medical  corps  at  Greytown, 

23 


some  rain  in  each  month  of  the  year.  This  is, 
undoubtedly,  another  effect  of  the  trade  winds, 
which  come  to  that  coast  all  the  year  round 
heavily  laden  with  moisture.  In  the  year  1891 
the  rainfall  varied  from  4.93  inches  in  May  to 
52.55  inches  in  July,  and  notwithstanding  that 
the  rainy  season  nominally  ends  with  Novem- 
ber there  was  a  fall  of  41.65  inches  in  Decem- 
ber. The  average  monthly  rainfall  was  24.75 
inches,  and  the  average  daily  fall  for  the  year, 
.819  inches.  The  maximum  temperature, 
89°  5',  was  reached  in  September,  and  the  mini- 
mum, 70°,  in  January.  The  monthly  averages 
were:  January,  75°;  February,  76°;  March. 
77°;  April,  75°;  May,  75°;  June,  79°;  July, 
78°;  August,  78°;  September,  83°;  October, 
77°;  November,  76°;  December,  76°. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  heat  is  at  no  time  of 
the  year  excessive,  and  the  steady  sea  breeze 
relieves  the  atmosphere  of  the  muggy  and  op- 
pressive conditions  that  so  often  prove  dis- 
tressing in  our  Northern  summers.  As  to  the 
healthfulness  of  that  part  of  Nicaragua  covered 
by  the  operations  of  the  canal  company,  which 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  extend  into  the  heart 

24 


of  the  dense  tropical  forest  lying  between 
Greytown  and  the  highlands,  the  following 
trustworthy  testimony  is  given  by  Dr.  J. 
Edward  Stubbert,  the  chief  surgeon  of  the  com- 
pany. "It  has  been  generally  supposed  that 
this  country  teems  with  fatal  diseases,  and 
that  our  employees  are  exposed  to  severe  and 
dangerous  types  of  fevers.  After  a  profes- 
sional experience  of  ten  years,  most  of  which 
time  has  been  spent  in  the  tropics,  and  being 
familiar  with  nearly  every  climate  of  the  globe, 
I  can  state,  decidedly,  that  in  my  opinion  Nicj- 
aragua  is  exceptionally  free  from  any  fatal 
endemic  disease.  This  fact  I  wish  to  empha- 
size, viz.,  that  out  of  over  1,690  patients,  only 
twelve  have  died  from  diseases  that  may  be 
termed  climatic."  The  most  prevalent  diseases 
are  remittent  and  intermittent  fevers,  which 
supplied  636  cases  of  the  total  given  above. 
"The  disease,"  continues  the  same  authority, 
"which  is  most  liable  to  prove  fatal  is  dysen- 
tery, which,  however,  is  characteristic  of  it  in 
all  climates.  Most  of  the  diseases  met  with 
have  been  mild  in  type,  this  being  especially  true 
of  bronchitis  and  pneumonia,  the  latter  fre- 

25 


quently  having  its  crisis  on  the  sixth  day.  The 
cases  of  fever,  when  of  the  remittent  or  inter- 
mittent types,  are  very  amenable  to  treatment 
and  not  of  long  duration ;  the  former  generally 
disappearing  in  about  four  and  a  half  instead  of 
twelve  to  fourteen  days,  its  usual  duration  in 
the  States.  No  epidemic  diseases  have 
visited  the  country  since  the  company  has 
been  at  work,  and  the  occasional  rumors  one 
hears  of  such  visitations  in  the  past,  on  in- 
vestigation seem  to  lack  sufficient  evidence  to 
give  them  credence.  The  climate  of  Nicaragua 
is,  as  has  been  asserted,  and  we  think  proven 
by  the  record  of  this  department,  a  j&lubrious 
one.  Far  removed  from  the  severity  of  north- 
ern winters,  even  while  geographically  in  the 
tropics,  we  enjoy  an  equable  temperature 
throughout  the  whole  year."  In  a  succeeding 
chapter  I  shall  give  the  testimony  of  another 
competent  observer  as  to  the  healthfulness  of 
Greytown, 


CHAPTER  II. 

GOVERNMENT,    POPULATION,    HISTORY. 

AT  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889  Nicaragua 
made  a  display  of  products  that  reflected  credit 
on  the  industry  and  enterprise  of  her  people. 
Visitors  to  her  pavilion  were  presented  with  a 
souvenir  in  the  shape  of  a  card,  bearing  on  one 
side  medallion  photographs  of  the  seven  men 
who  had  succeeded  each  other  as  president  of 
the  republic  from  1859  to  that  time,  and  on  the 
other  a  summary  of -its  history  which  pointed 
with  pride  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  only 
country  in  America  that  had  enjoyed  uninter- 
rupted peace  during  that  period.  This  fact  has 
not  generally  been  borne  in  mind  by  writers  on 
the  country.  Unfortunately,  however,  subse- 
quent events  have  made  this  but  an  idle  boast. 

The  government  is  republican  in  form  and 
modeled  after  that  of  the  United  States,  but 
differing  in  some  important  respects.  For  ex- 
ample, there  is  no  vice-president,  and  the  suc- 

27 


cession  is  provided  for  by  a  mechanism  more 
complicated  than  convenient.  The  names  of 
five  senators  written,  each  on  a  separate  slip  of 
paper,  are  sealed  in  as  many  envelopes  and 
these  are  placed  together  in  a  receptacle,  from 
which  three  are  drawn  and  filed  in  the  state 
archives,  while  the  other  two  are  burned  with- 
out being  opened.  In  case  of  the  death  of  the 
president,  the  first  of  the  three  envelopes  on 
file  is  opened  by  regularly  constituted  author- 
ities, and  the  senator  whose  name  is  written  on 
the  inclosed  slip  is  immediately  proclaimed 
president.  If  the  first  envelope  should  con- 
tain the  name  of  a  senator  who  has  died  in  the- 
interim,  the  second  envelope  is  opened,  and  so 
on.  Apparently  the  framers  of  the  constitution 
were  fearful  that  the  creation  of  a  vice -presi- 
dency would  make  room  for  a  dangerous 
growth  of  individual  ambition,  and  this  device 
was  adopted  as  a  safeguard  against  the  conse- 
quent perils.  In  that  country,  where  there  is  a 
strange  intermixture  of  simplicity  and  cun- 
ning, it  is  supposed  to  successfully  conceal  the 
identity  of  the  successor  to  the  presidency. 
The  government  consists  of  a  president  and  a 

28 


congress  of  two  houses;  a' senate  and  a  house 
of  representatives.  The  president  and  senators 
are  elected  for  four  years  and  the  representa- 
tives for  two  years.  The  president  has  a  cabi- 
net of  his  own  selection  consisting  of  five  min- 
isters: of  foreign  affairs  and  agriculture;  of 
commerce  and  public  instruction;  of  finances; 
of  war,  fine  arts  and  public  works;  of  the 
interior,  justice  and  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The 
senate  has  ten  and  the  house  eleven  members. 
There  is  a  supreme  court.of  two  branches,  one 
of  which  sits  at  Granada,  the  other  at  Leon. 
In  each  department  also  is  a  resident  civil  and 
criminal  judge.  The  country  is  divided  into 
seven  administrative  departments.  On  the 
east  side  of  the  lake  are,  proceeding  northward, 
Chontales,  Matagalpa  and  Segovia;  on  the  west 
side  of  the  lake,  proceeding  southward,  Chin- 
andega,  Leon,  Granada  and  Rivas. 

Besides  those  there  is  the  Mosquito  Reserva- 
tion, along  the  Atlantic  coast,  embracing  about 
9,000  square  miles.  This,  however,  is  not  pro- 
vided for  as  a  whole  in  the  administrative  econ- 
omy, as  it  preserves  a  sort  of  autonomy  under 
the  ipint  protectorate  of  Nicaragua  and  Great 

29 


Britain.  Still  three  of  its  towns — Greytown, 
America  and  Bluefields — are  virtually  under 
the  control  of  the  government  of  Nicaragua. 
America  is  the  settlement  built  by  the  Nic- 
aragua Canal  Company  on  the  west  side  of 
Greytown  harbor 

The  elective  franchise  is  so  limited  as  to 
leave  the  country  little  of  democracy  except 
the  name.  Thus,  the  departmental  and  munic- 
ipal officers  instead  of  being  elected  by  the 
people  are  appointed  by  the  president,  who  is 
therefore  virtually  an  autocrat;  but  even  that  is 
not  all.  By  another  exercise  of  authority  he 
can,  at  least  materially,  affect  the  result  of  the 
only  elections  held:  those  for  officers  of  the 
general  government.  Under  the  constitution 
soldiers  are  not  allowed  to  vote,  and  the  presi- 
dent at  his  discretion  can  make  a  complete 
change  in  the  personnel  of  the  army  by  dis- 
charging the  whole  force  and  enlisting  new 
men.  So  by  enlisting  his  political  opponents 
he  can  effectually  disfranchise  them.  It  has 
been  charged  that  fully  7,000  opponents  of  the 
present  incumbent  were  in  that  manner  dis- 
franchised immediately  before  the  last  election. 

30 


There  is  no  navy,  and  the  army  is  a  military 
comedy.  In  many  cases  the  garrison  of  a  town 
consists  of  half  a  dozen  hatless,  coatless  and 
barefooted  men,  whose  muskets  are  their  only 
military  distinction.  Almost  everywhere  the 
army  is  required  to  do  police  duty.  There  is  a 
much  greater  military  display  at  Managua,  the 
capital  cit}r,  than  anywhere  else,  but  even 
there  the  display  is  confined  to  the  officers. 
However,  at  that  place  the  Credit  of  the  army 
is  somewhat  redeemed  by  a  very  good  and  very 
well  uniformed  military  band.  One  of  the 
military  customs  of  the  country  has  given  a 
peculiar  local  significance  to  the  word  volun- 
teer. The  soldiers  are  called  volunteers,  but  it 
often  happens  that  an  unoffending  citizen  is 
seized  in  the  street  or  a  public  house  and 
hustled  before  the  commandante,  who,  if  he  be 
unable  to  show  by  documentary  or  other  evi- 
dence that  he  is  engaged  in  regular  employ- 
ment, forthwith  orders  his  enlistment.  Never- 
theless, the  victim  is  thenceforth  called  a 
volunteer. 

Education  is  more  general  than  the  visitor 
expects  to  find  it.  Besides  a  public  school 

31 


system  there  are  two  higher  institutions  of 
learning:  the  University  of  Leon,  which  has 
faculties  of  law,  medicine  and  theology;  and 
the  university  of  Granada,  which  provides  a 
law  department  and  an  intermediate  course. 
The  public  school  system  furnishes  free  com- 
mon schools  for  each  township.  These  schools 
are  well  attended  and  apparently  fairly  up  to 
the  requirements  of  the  people,  for  the  major- 
ity of  the  younger  persons  the  visitor  comes 
in  contact  with  are  able  to  read  and  write.  Of 
course,  Spanish  is  the  language  of  the  country, 
but  many  of  the  common  people  are  able  to 
make  themselves  understood  in  English,  while 
the  better  educated  classes  generally  speak 
French  and  in  some  cases  German  as  well  as 
English  fluently.  The  government  spends 
annually  $453,000  for  educational  purposes,  and 
of  that  sum  $176,000  are  devoted  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  common  schools.  As  the  total 
revenue  of  the  government  is  less  than  $6,000,- 
000  per  annum,  the  sum  expended  on  education 
is  comparatively  large. 

Catholicism  is,  by  the  constitution,  the  es- 
tablished religion  of  the  country;  but  freedom 

32 


of  worship  is  guaranteed  by  the  treaties  with 
the  United  States  and  England.  There  is  a 
Moravian  mission  at  Bluefields  and  a  Baptist, 
a  Methodist  church  and  an  Episcopal  colony  at 
Greytown,  but  absolute  conformity  everywhere 
else.  There  are,  however,  no  monasteries  or 
religious  orders,  those  having  been  suppressed 
in  1829,  about  thirty  years  prior  to  the  adop- 
tion of  the  existing  constitution.  In  its  eccle- 
siastical jurisdiction,  the  country  is  a  suffragan 
bishopric  subordinate  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Guatemala,  and  is  divided  into  117  parishes 
under  the  control  of  100  incumbents. 

The  policy  of  the  government  offers  excep- 
tional advantages  to  property  holders.  There 
are  no  taxes  on  real  estate  or  personal  prop- 
erty. The  government  revenue  is  derived 
chiefly  from  duties  on  imports,  a  native  brandy 
called  aguardiente  distilled  from  sugar  cane 
and  a  duty  on  tobacco.  The  total  revenue  for 
1889-90  was  $5,755,834.20,  of  which  $1,705,000 
was  derived  from  the  duty  on  imports;  $1,096,- 
000  from  aguardiente;  $539,000  from  tobacco; 
and  $517,000  from  the  National  Railroad,  which 

runs    from    Granada   to    Managua    and    from 
c  33 


Momotombo  to  Corinto.  An  ad  valorem  duty 
of  fifty  per  cent,  is  levied  on  all  imports  except 
liquors  and  tobacco,  which  are  taxed  much 
higher.  The  imports  in  1890  aggregated  $3,- 
327,006.43,  of  which  England  contributed  $995,- 
884.86;  France,  $531,276.45;  Germany  about 
the  same  amount  as  France,  and  the  United 
States,  $597,042.95.  The  exports  in  the  same 
year  were  $3,834,137.66,  of  which  $461,634  went 
to  England;  $793,249.50  to  France,  and  $1,169,- 
050.64  to  the  United  States.  Foreign  com- 
merce has  increased  slightly  since.  In  1895 
the  imports  were  $4,116,855,  and  the  exports, 
$4,994,519. 

No  trustworthy  census  has  ever  been  taken, 
and  none  of  any  kind  for  many  years.  Hence 
the  population  is  a  matter  of  uncertainty  and 
dispute.  At  least  a  decade  ago  it  was  esti- 
mated at  500,000,  but  more  recently  it  has  been 
put  at  about  half  that  number.  The  latter 
estimate,  however,  is  attributed  by  Nicara- 
guans  to  the  jealousy  of  the  neighbor  repablic, 
Costa  Rica.  Personal  observation  inclines  me 
to  the  opinion  that  the  former  estimate  is 
nearer  the  mark.  Forty  thousand  inhabitants 

34 


are  claimed  for  the  city  of  Leon,  and  the  size 
of  the  place  and  the  number  of  persons  gener- 
ally found  in  a  house  seem  to  justify  the  claim. 
Granada,  Managua  and  Masaya  are  all  impor- 
tant centers  of  population,  and  the  west  coast, 
from  Leon  to  Rivas,  a  distance  of  considerably 
more  than  100  miles,  is  comparatively  thickly 
peopled.  Parts  of  Chontales  and  Segovia  are 
also  thickly  settled,  while  Matagalpa,  inhabited 
almost  entirely  by  Indians  of  Aztec  descent,  is 
said  to  be  the  most  populous  district  in  the 
country.  According  to  the  latest  estimate  fur- 
nished by  the  Bureau  of  American  Republics  at 
Washington  the  population  is  420,000. 

The  people  consist  of  whites,  Indians, 
negroes,  ladinos  (crossed  Indians  and  whites), 
zambos  (crossed  Indians  and  negroes),  and  mu- 
lattoes.  The  whites  are  most  numerous  and 
the  negroes  very  rare  on  the  west  coast.  The 
Indians  of  the  west  coast  and  of  the  interior 
are  pure  Aztecs.  On  the  east  coast  are  several 
tribes  known  from  each  other  as  Pantasmas, 
Payas,  Carcas,  Mosquitoes  and  Caribs,  all  more 
or  less  related,  but  entirely  different  from  the 
Aztecs.  They  are  generally  of  darker  com- 

35 


plexion,  not  so  good-looking,  and  smaller  in 
stature.  They  are  as  a  rule  pacific,  amiable, 
fond  of  fun,  full  of  humor,  and  extraordinarily 
honest.  Many  of  them  make  a  business  of 
carrying  packs  through  the  dense  forest  be- 
tween the  seaboard  and  the  interior,  or  of  trans- 
porting goods  in  canoes  along  the  rivers,  and  it 
is  said  that  they  are  often  intrusted  with 
money  and  bullion  in  amounts  that  would 
constitute  fortunes  they  could  never  hope  to 
acquire  by  industry,  yet  they  have  never  been 
known  to  prove  recreant  to  their  trust.. 

Zambos  or  .negroes  are  so  common  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  that  among  the  whites  living 
there  the  opinion  is  very  general  that  Carib  is 
only  another  name  for  negro.  One  might  as 
well  confound  the  Indian  and  the  white  man. 
I  have  already  referred  to  a  difference  between 
the  Indians  of  the  east  and  west  coasts.  They 
are,  in  fact,  of  distinct  races.  An  acute  ob- 
server has  pointed  out  that  while  the  Indians 
of  the  west  coast,  like  those  of  Peru  and  the 
aborigines  of  Mexico,  Cuba  and  Hayti,  are 
without  exception  maize  eaters,  the  staple  food 
of  east  coast  Indians,  as  well  as  those  of  Porto 

36 


NATIVE    GIRL  —  NEGRO    TYPE 
Photograph  by  J.  W.  G.  Walker 


"  Rico  and  the  West  India  islands  to  the  south- 
ward, is  a  _flour  made  from  the  roots  of  the 
mandioca  (manihot  aipim).  These  yam -eating 
Indians  are  the  descendants  of  the  nomadic  and 
warlike  Caribs,  who,  this  authority  holds,  had 
their  origin  in  Venezuela,  or  thereabout.  The 
maize  eaters,  on  the  other  hand,  have  been  for 
ages  an  agricultural  and  pacific  people, 
gathered  in  cities  and  towns,  and  in  places 
highly  civilized.  These  he  thinks,  had  their 
origin  in  the  remote  past  on  some  now  sub- 
merged island  of  the  Pacific  adjacent  to  the 
American  coast. 

The  Indians  of  the  west  coast  are  an 
amiable,  polite,  industrious  and  interesting 
people.  Their  frugality  and  sobriety  are  ad- 
mirable, and  their  fondness  of  fun  is  positively 
infectious.  In  company  with  a  very  blonde 
friend,  who,  on  account  of  the  color  of  his  hair, 
excited  the  unbounded  admiration  of  the 
natives,  I  went  fishing  one  day  at  a  place  called 
St.  Jorge,  on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Nicaragua. 
A  group  gathered  around  and  wonderingly 
watched  me  adjust  my  fishing  rod.  One  of  the 
number  asked  what  I  would  use  for  bait,  and 

39 


not  being  able  to  answer  him  in  Spanish,  I 
pointed  to  my  companion,  meaning  to  indicate 
that  he  had  the  bait  in  his  pocket.  The  sign 
was  interpreted  that  I  intended  to  make  bait  of 
my  companion,  and  the  whole  party  went  off 
into  a  fit  of  immoderate  laughter. 

Their  industry  is  of  the  most  painstaking  and, 
in  many  instances,  unthinking  character.  They 
do  things  because  their  forefathers  did  them, 
and  consequently  waste  much  time  in  slow 
and  antiquated  methods.  For  example,  it  has 
been  a  matter  of  much  difficulty  to  induce 
them  to  use  machine-sawed  lumber,  because  it 
has  for  generations  been  customary  with  them 
to  cut  lumber  with  the  antiquated  whip-saw. 
Their  fondness  for  flowers  is  remarkable.  The 
women  and  young  girls  generally  have  a 
blossom  of  some  kind  in  the  hair,  and  in  the 
Indian  city  of  Masaya  every  house  has  a  flower 
garden  beside  it.  "The  love  of  flowers  is  an- 
other beautiful  trait  of  the  old  Indians  that  their 
descendants  have  not  lost.  The  ancient  Mexi- 
cans decorated  their  altars  and  temples  with 
flowers,  and  in  their  festivals  crowned  them- 
selves with  garlands." 

40 


' 


The  history  of  the  Spanish  conquest  of  Nic- 
aragua, like  that  of  the  conquest  of  Mexico  and 
Peru,  forms  one  of  the  blackest  pages  in  the 
annals  of  the  human  race.  The  shocking  cruel- 
ties perpetrated  on  a  peaceful  and  unresisting 
people,  in  many  respects  more  enlightened 
than  the  invaders  must  forever  remain  a  re- 
proach to  the  nation  which  sent  forth  those 
ruthless  marauders.  As  for  the  marauders 
themselves,  language  furnishes  no  adequate 
terms  to  characterize  their  infamy.  They 
found  the  country  densely  peopled  and  at  once 
set  to  work  to  depopulate  it.  They  enslaved 
the  whole  people;  transported  them  by  thou- 
sands to  Panama  and  Peru;  goaded  those  who 
remained  by  every  species  of  oppression,  or 
slaughtered  them  outright  with  a  ferociety 
rarely  exhibited  except  by  beasts  of  prey. 
Although  the  country  abounded  with  wild  ani- 
mals, their  wanton  disregard  of  human  life  led 
them  to  murder  the  young  men,  and  feed  their 
flesh  to  the  dogs.  When  human  life  was  held 
so  cheap,  it  is  not  surprising  to  read  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  priests  who  looked  after  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  those  monsters  of  iniquity, 


- 

,at  young  women  were  openly  bartered,  each 
for  a  single  strip  of  bacon.  And  with  amazing 
hypocrisy  all  of  those  atrocities  were  com- 
mitted in  the  name  and  under  the  sanction  of 
Christianity. 

The  country  was  discovered  by  Columbus, 
who  sailed  along  its  eastern  coast  in  1502  Inl521 
Gil  Gonzales  de  Avila  set  out  from  Panama  with 
one  hundred  men  and  four  horses.  He  landed 
at  the  Gulf  of  Nicoya,  on  the  Pacific  coast  of 
Costa  Kica,  and  penetrated  the  country  from 
the  south.  He  first  encountered  a  chief,  after 
whom  the  gulf  was  named,  who  received  him 
hospitably  and,  with  his  people,  six  thousand 
in  number,  embraced  Christianity.  Three  hun- 
dred miles  further  north  he  came  to  the  great 
city  of  Nicaragua,  which  occupied  the  site  of 
the  existing  city  of  Rivas,  and  is  said  to  have 
contained  a  million  inhabitants.  It  and  the 
surrounding  country  were  ruled  by  a  chief  of 
the  same  name,  who,  having  heard  of  "the 
sharpness  of  the  Spanish  swords,"  appears  to 
have  temporized  with  Gonzales.  He  received 
him  with  a  show  of  hospitality  and  presented 
him  "with  much  gold,  equal  to  *  twenty -five 


VIEW   ON   THE    LOWER   RIO    GRANDE 


thousand  pieces  of  eight,'  and  garments  and 
plumes  of  feathers.  He  asked  the  Spaniards 
many  shrewd  questions  about  the  flood,  and 
about  the  sun,  moon  and  stars;  their  motion, 
quality  and  distance;  what  was  the  cause  of 
night  and  day,  and  the  blowing  of  the  winds? 
how  the  Spaniards  got  all  their  information 
about  heaven,  who  brought  it  to  them,  and  if 
the  messenger  came  down  on  a  rainbow?  We 
are  told  that  'Gonzales  answered  to  the  best  of 
his  ability,  commending  the  rest  to  God.' 
Probably  his  interrogator  knew  more  of  the 
visible  heavenly  bodies  than  he  did,  for  Nicara- 
gua was  of  the  Aztec  race,  a  people  who  knew 
the  true  theory  of  eclipses,  and  possessed  an 
astronomical  calendar  of  great  accuracy."* 

However,  about  fifty  miles  further  north,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Masaya,  ruled  another 
powerful  chief,  named  Diriangan,  who  was  not 
hospitably  inclined,  and  whose  threatening  at- 
titude forced  Gonzales  to  retire  from  the  coun- 
try. But  the  account  he  carried  back  to  Pe- 
drarias,  the  governor  of  Panama,  of  the  richness 
of  the  country,  so  excited  the  cupidity  of  the 

*"The  Naturalist  in  Nicaragua." — Thomas  Belt. 
45 


latter  that  a  large  force  was  collected  and  sent 
out  in  the  following  year,  under  Hernandez  de 
Cordova,  to  conquer  Nicaragua  and  Diriangan. 
It  is  amazing  that  a  densely  populated  country, 
several  hundred  miles  in  extent,  should  have 
been  overrun  by  a  mere  handful  of  adventurers, 
whatever  their  superiority  of  arms,  when  sheer 
weight  of  numbers  would  have  been  sufficient 
to  crush  them.  However,  Hernandez  succeeded 
in  his  mission,  founded  Leon  and  Granada,  and 
reared  to  himself  and  his  successors  an  ever- 
lasting monument  of  atrocity. 

The  country  was  annexed  to  the  province  of 
Santo  Domingo,  and  Pedrarias  was  made  the 
first  governor.  He  and  his  son-in-law,  Rodrigo 
de  Contreras,  who  succeeded  him,  distin- 
guished themselves  by  the  exercise  of  every 
cruelty  that  a  devilish  ingenuity  could  suggest. 
One  stroke  of  retributive  justice  crosses,  like  a 
flash  of  light,  that  black  and  bloody  phase  of 
inhumanity.  Hernandez  and  Pedro,  sons  of 
Rodrigo,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  governor- 
ship, revolted  against  Spain  in  1549,  and  pro- 
claimed the  independence  of  Spanish  America. 
Although  successful  in  gaining  possession  of 

46 


Panama,  they  were  defeated  and  executed  in 
1550.  Thus,  though  by  no  means  adequately, 
were  the  wrongs  of  the  defenseless  Aztecs 
partially  avenged.  But  that  was,  after  all,  a 
meager  satisfaction,  for  their  successors  were, 
as  a  rule,  no  better  than  they.  Nicaragua  had 
previously,  in  1541,  been  constituted,  with  the 
rest  of  Central  America,  into  a  separate  govern- 
ment; but  after  the  suppression  of  the  revolt  it 
was  attached  to  the  audenda  of  Guatemala. 

For  nearly  three  hundred  years  the  country, 
so  far  as  the  poor  Indians  were  concerned,  en- 
joyed the  quiet  of  "a  calm  despair."  True,  it 
was  subject  to  occasional  incursions  of  the  buc- 
caneers, but  these,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted, 
were  directed  more  against  their  oppressors 
than  themselves,  and  consequently  must  have 
been  a  source  of  melancholy  satisfaction  to  the 
oppressed  people.  In  1821  Nicaragua  and  the 
other  Central  American  States,  joining  hands 
with  Mexico,  threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke  and 
became  a  part  of  the  Mexican  Empire,  estab- 
lished by  Iturbide.  Iturbide's  career  was  brief, 
however,  and  on  his  downfall,  in  1823,  Nicaragua 
was  constituted  one  of  the  five  States  of  the 

47 


Central  American  Confederation.  That  con- 
federation lasted  with  little  more  than  a  sem- 
blance of  government  until  1839,  when  each  of 
the  component  States  became  separate  nation- 
alities. A  period  of  unrest  followed,  character- 
ized by  internal  disorders  and  frequent  collis- 
ions with  neighboring  states. 

In  1847  the  government  became  involved  in  a 
dispute  with  Great  Britain  over  the  control  of 
the  Mosquito,  or  Atlantic  coast,  that  lasted  for  a 
year  and  resulted  in  the  seizure  by  that  power  ' 
of  San  Juan  del  Norte,  which  the  English  re- 
named Greytown,  in  honor  of  Earl  Grey.  More 
than  a  century  before  the  English  had  effected 
a  lodgment  on  the  Mosquito  coast,  and  in  1825 
one  of  the  native  chiefs  was  crowned  king  of  the 
Mosquito  tribes  at  Belize,  in  British  Honduras. 
At  his  death,  he  appointed  the  British  agent  at 
Belize  regent  of  his  kingdom,  and  by  virtue  of 
that  appointment  the  British  government  after- 
ward claimed  a  protectorate  over  the  entire 
coast.  But  for  the  interference  of  the  United 
States  government,  that  protectorate  would  in 
all  probability  have  been  exercised  indefinitely. 
The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  and  the 


establishment  by  citizens  of  the  United  States 
of  a  transit  line  to  the  Pacific  by  way  of  the 
San  Juan  Eiver,  gave  this  country  a  practical 
interest  in  the  controversy  between  Nicaragua 
and  Great  Britain,  and  opened  the  negotiations 
which  resulted  in  the  signing  at  Washington, 
July  4,  1850,  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty. 
Although  that  treaty  conceded  to  Great  Britain 
a  great  deal  more  than  she  was  entitled  to, 
namely,  a  voice  in  the  building  of  any  ship 
canal  across  the  continent  at  Nicaragua,  it  put 
an  end  to  the  disputes  between  the  three  coun- 
tries. A  subsequent  treaty  between  Nicaragua 
and  Great  Britain,  signed  at  Managua  in  1860, 
conveyed  the  protectorate  of  the  Mosquito 
coast  to  Nicaragua,  and  constituted  Greytown 
a  free  port.  The  king  of  the  Mosquitos  was 
also  bound  by  the  treaty  to  recognize  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  republic  and  to  confine  himself  to 
the  exercise  of  purely  administrative  authority. 
In  consideration  of  the  relinquishment  of  his 
sovereignty,  the  republic  was  to  pay  him  $5,- 
000  annually  for  ten  years.  However,  on  his 
death  in  1864,  the  republic  refused  to  recognize 

his  successor  and  stopped  the  payments. 
D  49 


The  Mosquito  coast  embroglio  was,  however, 
the  least  serious  of  the  troubles  that  Nicaragua 
passed  through  in  the  period  between  1839  and 
1860.  In  1854  began  a  protracted  civil  war 
which  lasted  until  1858.  It  was  really  a 
struggle  for  ascendency  between  democracy  and 
the  aristocracy.  Democracy  finally  triumphed, 
as  much  as  it  is  possible  for  democracy  to 
triumph  in  s,  Spanish  American  community. 
The  people  secured  a  measure  of  civil  if  not 
complete  political  liberty.  Two  governments 
were  set  up;  that  of  the  democrats  at  Leon; 
the  other  of  the  aristocrats,  at  Granada.  In  an 
impulse  of  misplaced  confidence  the  democrats 
invited  to  their  assistance  Colonel  William 
Walker,  a  native  of  the  United  States,  at  that 
time  a  resident  of  California.  He  landed  in 
Nicaragua  with  a  few  adventurous  followers, 
and  speedily  made  himself  master  of  the  coun- 
try. It  has  been  charged  that  Walker's  real  ob- 
ject was  to  establish  a  slave-holding  republic  in 
Central  America,  but  I  do  not  think  a  dispas- 
sionate view  of  the  facts  warrants  that  conclu- 
sion. The  truth  of  the  matter  appears  to  be 
that  Walker  was  a  purely  selfish  and  rapacious 

50 


adventurer,  who  was  moved  less  by  principle 
than  by  a  desire  for  power  and  plunder.  His 
treachery  to  his  friends,  his  seizure  of  the 
property  of  the  Central  American  Transit  Com- 
pany, his  wanton  destruction  of  Granada,  and 
many  other  excesses,  all  go  to  justify  this  view 
of  his  character.  It  is  true  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  Granada  was  actually  accomplished  by 
one  of  his  lieutenants,  an  Englishman  named 
Hennmgsen,  who,  in  a  spirit  of  unbridled  malig- 
nancy, caused  to  be  inscribed  on  one  of  the 
ruined  walls:  "Here  was  Granada."  But  there 
is  little  room  for  doubt  that  the  destruction 
was  sanctioned  if  not  planned  by  Walker. 
Walker  was  finally  driven  out  of  Nicaragua  by 
a  coalition  of  the  Central  American  republics. 
Subsequently  he  attempted  to  return  to  the 
country,  but  was  intercepted  by  a  United  States 
war  vessel,  and  turned  over  to  the  Honduran 
authorities,  by  whom  he  was  shot. 

After  the  expulsion  of  Walker,  differences 
with  Costa  Rica  arose,  which  delayed  the  with- 
drawal of  the  troops  of  that  republic  from  Nic- 
araguan  territory.  A  settlement  of  these  was 
effected,  however,  in  1858,  and  the  country  was 

51 


really  at  peace  for  the  first  time  in  nearly 
twenty     years.      A     new     constitution     was 
adopted     and      permanent      government     es- 
tablished, with  the  election  of  a  president  in 
1859.     From    that  time  to  the  spring  of  1893, 
with  the  exception  of  a  promptly  quelled  in- 
surrection in  1869,  the  country  enjoyed  unin- 
terrupted peace,  in  which  respect  it  enjoys  an 
honorable  distinction  from  every  other  Central 
and  South  American  State.     The  first  president 
elected  under  the  new  constitution  was  General 
Martinez,  who  served  two  terms,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded   in    1867  by  Fernando   Guzman.     The 
subsequent  presidents  were:    Quadra,   1871-5; 
Chamorro,   1875-9;  Zavala,   1879-83;  Cardenas, 
1883-7;  Carazo,  1887-90.     President  Carazo  died 
before  serving  his  full  term,  which  would  have 
expired  in   1891.     He  was   succeeded    by  Dr. 
Koberto  Sacasa,  under  the  prescribed  form  re- 
ferred   to    at  the  beginning  of  this    chapter. 
Sacasa  was  elected  for  a  full  term  in  1891,  in 
spite  of  a  good  deal  of  opposition,  based  on  the 
fact  that  an    amendment    to  the  constitution 
adopted  since  the  time  of  Martinez,  disqualifies 
a  man  from  serving  more  than  one  term.    His 

52 


opponents  claimed  that  this  provision  applied 
equally  to  the  incumbent  of  an  unexpired  term 
as  to  the  incumbent  of  a  full  term. 

The  dissatisfaction  with  Sacasa,  which  was 
very  evident  and  outspoken  at  the  time  of  my 
visit  in  the  spring  of  1891,  culminated  in  a 
revolution  in  April,  1893,  by  which  he  was  de- 
posed, and  General  Joaquin  Zavala,  of  Granada, 
the  leader  of  the  conservative  party,  installed 
in  his  place.  However,  the  new  government 
wras  very  short-lived,  for  in  July  of  the  same 
year  Zavala  was  overthrown  by  the  Leonenses, 
under  Zelaya  and  Ortiz,  who  proclaimed  them- 
selves respectively  president  and  vice-presi- 
dent. Zelaya  has  held  office  ever  since,  hav- 
ing been  elected  (?)  for  a  full  term  in  1897.  In 
the  fall  of  1894  he  violated  the  treaty  with 
Great  Britain,  above  referred  to,  and  took 
forcible  possession  of  the  Mosquito  coast,  de- 
posing the  so-called  king. 

Meanwhile  a  movement  was  seton  foot  in  Nic- 
aragua and  the  adjoining  republics  of  Honduras 
and  Salvador  for  the  formation  of  a  greater  re- 
public of  Central  America.  This  resulted  on 
Jane  20,  1895,  in  the  signing  of  a  treaty  at 

53 


Amapala,  in  Salvador,  by  representatives  of  the 
three  first-named  republics,  as  well  as  of  Guate- 
mala and  Costa  Eica,  by  which  the  five  states 
were  consolidated  into  one  government,  to  be 
presided  over  alternately  for  a  year  at  a  time 
by  the  president  of  each  of  the  constituent  re- 
publics. Costa  Kica  and  Guatemala,  however, 
afterward  declined  to  enter  the  union,  but  a 
semblance  of  -federation  was  kept  up  for  a 
time  by  delegates  of  the  other  three  countries, 
who  resided  for  awhile  at  San  Salvador  and 
afterward  at  Managua.  These  delegates,  who 
constituted  what  was  called  a  diet  were  Fiallas 
of  Honduras ;  E.  Mendoza,of  Nicaragua,  and  Dr. 
J.  Castellanos,  of  Salvador.  Under  their  auspices 
a  constitution  was  drafted,  looking  to  a  more 
coherent  union,  and  the  confederation  was 
called  the  United  States  of  Central  America. 
That  constitution  was  proclaimed  at  Amapala 
on  November  1,  1898,  and  Dr.  Salvador  Callego. 
of  Salvador;  Miguel  Agnelugarte,  of  Honduras; 
and  Dr.  Manuel  Corrolel  Matus,  of  Nicaragua, 
were  named  to  exercise  the  governing  power 
until  March  14^1899,  when  they  were  to  elect  a 
president.  Within  a  few  days,  however,  a  revo- 

54 


lution  broke  out  in  Salvador,  and  on  November 
30th  the  union  was  formally  dissolved. 

In  spite  of  her  internal  troubles  Nicaragua 
appears  to  have  prospered,  for  President 
Zelaya,  in  his  message  to  congress,  January  1, 
1896,  announced  that  the  foreign  debt  of  $379,- 
379.20  had  been  paid  off,  while  $2,157,446.63 
had  been  paid  on  the  domestic  debt,  of  which 
only  $1,425,000  remained.  That,  he  calculated, 
would  be  liquidated  in  three  years  more. 


VIEW    ON    THE    RIO    GRANDE 
Photograph  by  J.  W.  G.  Walker 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   GKEAT   WATERWAY. 

NICARAGUA  has  long  claimed  the  attention  of 
maritime  nations  on  account  of  the  facilities  it 
offers  for  the  building  of  a  ship  canal  to  con- 
nect the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  The 
want  of  such  a  communication  was  felt  much 
further  back  in  the  history  of  civilization  than 
is  generally  suspected.  In  truth  it  was  the  im- 
pelling force  that,  four  hundred  years  ago, 
started  Columbus  out  to  search  for  a  western 
passage  to  the  Indies,  and  so  led  to  the  discovery 
of  the  new  world.  Long  before  the  American 
coast  was  thoroughly  explored,  the  San  Juan 
River  was  fixed  on  as  offering  a  possible  way  of 
connecting  the  two  oceans.  This  suggestion  was 
made  by  the  Portuguese,  Antonio  Galvao,  as  far 
back  as  1550.  In  the  interim  other  routes  have 
been  advocated,  but  careful  surveys  made  by 
the  United  States  government  demonstrated 

56 


almost  a  decade  before  the  disastrous  at- 
tempt at  Panama,  that  the  Nicaragua  route  was 
the  only  practicable  one.  The  subject  was  first 
officially  considered  by  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment in  1825,  when  Senor  Canaz,  the  minister 
to  Washington  from  the  Central  American  Con- 
federation, addressed  a  note  to  Mr.  Clay,  then 
Secretary  of  State,  inviting  his  attention  to  the 
advantages  of  the  San  Juan  Eiver  and  Lake 
Nicaragua  for  the  construction  of  a  canal.  Ex- 
cept, however,  that  Mr.  Clay  instructed  Mr. 
Williams,  the  United  States  charge  d'affaires 
in  Central  America  to  ascertain  if  surveys  had 
been  made  and  if  confidence  could  be  placed 
in  their  accuracy,  no  action  was  taken  by  the 
government. 

Private  enterprise  was  also  about  the  same 
time  first  directed  to  the  matter,  and  in  June, 
1826,  A.  H.  Palmer,  of  New  York,  who  had  as- 
sociated with  him  De  Witt  Clinton  and  other 
prominent  men  of  the  United  States,  secured  a 
contract  from  the  government  of  Central  Amer- 
ica to  build  a  canal  through  Nicaragua  "for 
vessels  of  the  largest  burden  possible."  Al- 
though they  proposed  to  do  the  work  with  only 

59 


$5,000,000,  they  failed  to  raised  the  money,  and 
so  the  enterprise  was  abandoned.  The  next 
agitation  of  the  subject  was  made  by  the  King 
of  the  Netherlands,  who  organized  an  associa- 
tion of  capitalists,  and  in  March,  1829,  sent  an, 
envoy,  General  Ver  Veer,  to  Central  America 
to  secure  the  requisite  concession.  The  Cen- 
tral American  Congress  voted  in  the  following 
year  to  grant  the  concession,  but  the  disrup- 
tion of  his  kingdom  forced  the  king  to  relinquish 
the  project. 

The  question  was  revived  from  time  to  time 
in  various  ways.  In  1835  the  United  States 
government  ordered  Colonel  Charles  H.  Biddle 
to  inspect  the  several  proposed  canal  'routes, 
beginning  with  that  of  Nicaragua.  Colonel 
Biddle  went  to  Central  America,  but  did  not 
make  the  inspection.  Two  years  later  the 
Central  American  government  employed  Lieu- 
tenant John  Bailey,  a  retired  British  naval 
officer,  who  had  for  some  time  been  a  resident 
of  Nicaragua,  to  make  surveys  for  the  proposed 
canal.  Lieutenant  Bailey's  appear  to  have 
been  the  first  actual  surveys,  but  they  were 

confined  chiefly  to  the  country  between  the  lake 

oo 


and  the  Pacific.  He  made  many  maps  and 
drawings,  which  were,  in  1839,  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  John  L.  Stephens,  who  was  sent  on 
a  special  and  confidential  mission  to  Central 
America  by  the  United  States  government. 
From  Lieutenant  Bailey's  data,  Mr.  Stephens 
estimated  that  the  canal  would  cost  $25,000,- 
000.  The  government  of  Nicaragua  sent  Don 
Francisco  Castellon  to  France  in  1844,  to  invite 
Louis  Philippe  to  exercise  a  protectorate  over 
the  country  and  develop  the  canal  project. 
But  the  tottering  King  of  France  needed  a  pro- 
tectorate himself  at  that  time,  and  so  could 
not  give  his  attention  to  matters  away  from 
home.  Don  Francisco,  however,  sought  the 
co-operation  of  Louis  Napoleon,  then  a  state 
prisoner  at  Ham,  and  in  1846  the  Nicaraguan 
government  authorized  the  future  emperor  to 
organize  a  company  to  construct  the  canal  and 
call  it  "Le  Canale  Napoleone  de  Nicaragua." 
The  prince  caused  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  to 
be  published  over  his  name,  but  after  his  es- 
cape from  prison  paid  no  further  attention  to 
the  matter. 
The  acquisition  of  California  by  the  United 


States  government  gave  the  project  a  new  im- 
portance to.  the   people   of   this  country,  and 
stimulated   efforts  to  secure  concessions.     In 
1849,    Elijah      Hise,     United     States     charge 
d'affaires  in  Central  America,  without  instruc- 
tions, negotiated  a  treaty  with  Nicaragua  for 
free  transit  across  her  territory,  but  his  govern- 
ment disavowed  the  act.     In  September  of  the 
same  year  E.   G.   Squier,  who  succeeded  Mr. 
Hise  as  charge  d'affaires,  secured  for  the  late 
Commodore  Vanderbilt  and    his  associates  a 
concession  for  a  canal  and  collateral  privileges 
for  the  establishment  of  a  transit  .line  to  the 
Pacific.     The  transit  line  was  speedily  estab- 
lished by  means  of  steamers  on  the  San  Juan 
River  and  the  lake,  and  stage  coaches  from  La 
Virgen,  on  the  west  shore  of  the  lake  to   San 
Juan    del    Sur,    on    the    Pacific.     One    of  the 
steamboats  employed  by  the  company  is  still 
in  use  on  the  river,  and  for  a  part  of  the  dis- 
tance between  La  Virgen  and  San  Juan  del  Sur, 
remains  in  good  preservation,  a  fine  macadem- 
ized  road  built  for  the  stage  coaches.     Up  to 
the  completion  of  the  Panama  railroad,    the 
Central  American  Transit  Line  did  a  tremend- 

62 


ous  business,  and  many  of  the  early  settlers 
went  to  California  by  this  route.  The  late 
General  William  T.  Sherman  was  among  those 
who  made  their  first  trip  to  California  by  way 
of  the  San  Juan.  But,  although  they  reaped 
large  profits  from  the  transit  line,  nothing  was 
done  by  Commodore  Vanderbilt  and  his  asso- 
ciates toward  building  the  canal,  except  that 
they  caused  a  survey  of  the  route  to  be  made 
by  Colonel  0.  W.  Childs,  of  Philadelphia,  who 
earned  the  distinction  of  pointing  out  the  low- 
est divide  on  the  Pacific  coast  between  Alaska 
and  Cape  Horn.  This  divide  is  only  a  few 
miles  north  of  La  Yirgen,  and  there  the  crest 
of  the  ridge  between  the  lake  and  the  Pacific 
is  only  153  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 
Colonel  Child's  survey,  a  record  of  which  has 
been  preserved,  was  the  first  thorough  instru- 
mental examination  of  the  whole  route. 

Besides  securing  the  concession  above  re- 
ferred to,  Mr.  Squier  negotiated  a  treaty  cover- 
ing the  construction  of  the  canal,  which  was  ap- 
proved by  President  Taylor  and  submitted  to 
congress,  but  owing  to  the  intrigues  of  the 
British  Minister  at  Washington,  Sir  Henry 

63 


Bulwer,  it  was  never  acted  on.  In  1858  the 
concession  to  the  Transit  Company  was  de- 
clared forfeited  for  non-compliance  with  the 
conditions,  aad  Nicaragua  and  Costa  Rica 
jointly  conferred  on  Felix  Belly,  of  Paris,  a 
concession  for  the  construction  of  a  canal  by 
the  route  surveyed  by  Childs.  The  concession 
lapsed,  however,  before  M.  Belly  succeeded  in 
raising  the  capital  required.  Meanwhile  the 
United  States  government,  having  been  ap- 
prised by  the  negotiations  incident  to  the 
Clayton-Bulwer  treaty  of  the  importance  at- 
tached by  Great  Britain  to  the  project,  had  be- 
gun a  systematic  survey  of  all  the  proposed 
canal  routes  across  the  isthmus.  This  work 
was  begun  in  1852  and  continued,  with  some 
interruption,  until  1880.  The  Nicaragua  route 
was  surveyed  in  1872-3  by  Commander  E.  P. 
Lull,  U.  S.  N.,  and  A.  G.  Menocal  as  chief  en- 
gineer, who  made  an  exhaustive  report  on  it. 
President  Grant,  in  1872,  appointed  General 
A.  A.  Humphreys,  Chief  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A., 
Captain  C.  P.  Patterson,  Superintendent  of  the 
Coast  Survey,  and  Admiral  Daniel  Ammen, 
U.  S.N.,  a  commission  to  examine  the  various 

64 


surveys,  and  report  on  "the  subject  of  inter- 
oceanic  ship  canal  communication."  The  ex- 
amination was  narrowed  by  elimination  to 
eight  routes,  which  were  all  tha£  were  deemed 
worthy  of  notice.  The.  length  of  these,  with 
the  altitude  of  their  divides,  was  ascertained  to 
be  as  follows: 

Tehuantepec,  length,  150  miles,  altitude,  855 
feet. 

Nicaragua,  length  169  miles,  altitude  153 
feet. 

Panama,  length  41  miles,  altitude  295  feet. 

San  Bias,  length  30  miles,  altitude  1,145  feet. 

Caledonia-Tuyra,  length  87  miles,  altitude 
1,008  feet. 

Atrato-Tuyra,  length  115  miles,  altitude  800 
feet. 

Atrato-Truando,  length  125  miles,  altitude 
950  feet. 

Atrato-Napipi,  length  180  miles,  altitude  778 
feet. 

The  commission  reported  that  the  Nicaragua 
route  "possesses,  both  for  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  a  canal,  greater  advantages 
and  offers  fewer  difficulties  from  engineering, 

«  65 


commercial  and  economic  points  of  view  than 
any  of  the  other  routes  shown  to  be  practica- 
ble." 

Admiral  Ammen  and  Engineer  Menocal,  who 
were  appointed  by  the  President  delegates 
from  the  United  States  government  to  the  In- 
ternational Canal  Congress,  held  in  Paris  in 
1879,  advocated  the  Nicaragua  route,  but  the 
adoption  of  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  a 
canal  of  uniform  level  should  be  constructed, 
limited  the  selection  of  a  route  to  Panama, 
where  a  commission  reported  such  a  canal  to 
be  possible.  The  Panama  project  was  from 
its  inception  pronounced  in  this  country,  im- 
practicable, and  after  the  return  of  the  dele- 
gates from  Paris,  a  Provisional  Interoceanic 
Canal  Society  was  organized  here  by  Captain 
S.  L.  Phelps,  General  U.  S.  Grant,  Admiral 
Ammen,  General  George  B.  McClellan,  Vice- 
President  Morton  and  others.  Mr.  Menocal 
secured  for  that  society  a  concession  for  the 
construction  of  a  canal  from  the  Republic  of 
Nicaragua,  in  May,  1880,  and  in  December, 
1881,  Senator  Miller,  of  California,  introduced 
into  the  United  States  Senate  a  bill  to  lend  the 

66 


aid  of  the  government  to  the  construction  of 
the  canal.  This  bill,  like  a  similar  one  intro- 
duced into  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  two 
years  later,  by  Mr.  Eosecrans  of  California, 
was  actively  opposed  by  Panama  Canal  and 
Tehuantepec  Ship  Eailway  interests,  and  event- 
ually shelved  without  a  vote.  The  house  bill 
was  finally  taken  up  as  unfinished  business, 
but  although  there  were  126  votes  in  its  favor  to 
76  against  it,  it  failed  for  want  of  the  requisite 
two-thirds  majority.  Meanwhile  the  Pro- 
visional Society  had  been  merged  into  a  cor- 
poration called  the  Maritime  Canal  Company  of 
Nicaragua,  and  as  government  aid  was  des- 
paired of  a  syndicate  of  capitalists  was  formed, 
which,  with  the  co-operation  of  Generals  Grant 
and  McClellan,  was  to  undertake  the  construc- 
tion of  the  canal.  The  failure  of  Grant  &  Ward 
in  May,  1884,  however,  unexpectedly  over- 
turned these  plans,  and  the  concession  held  by 
this  company,  like  those  which  had  previously 
been  granted,  lapsed  for  non-fulfillment  of  its 
conditions. 
Nevertheless,  a  movement  was  already  far 

advanced  in  another  direction   to  revive  the 

-67 


project.  Mr.  Elaine,  as  Secretary  of  State,  had 
opened  the  way,  and  his  successor  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  had  followed  it  up,  to  negotiate  a 
treaty  under  which  the  United  States  govern- 
ment was  to  undertake  the  construction  of  the 
canal  as  a  public  work.  Such  a  treaty  was 
concluded  and  submitted  to  the  United  States 
Senate  in  December,  1884.  It  was  not  brought 
to  a  vote  until  January  29,  1885,  when  it  failed 
of  ratification  for  lack  of  a  two-thirds  majority. 
A  motion  to  reconsider  having  been  entered, 
the  treaty  remained  before  the  senate,  but 
early  in  President  Cleveland's  administration  it 
was  withdrawn  for  further  executive  consider- 
ation, and  was  not  again  submitted  to  the  sen- 
ate. This  brings  the  history  of  the  negotia- 
tions down  to  the  point  at  which  the  movement 
began  that  resulted  in  beginning  the  actual 
construction  of  the  canal. 

A  discussion  of  the  subject  by  the  American 
Geographical  Society,  in  New  York  City,  was 
brought  about  early  in  1886,  by  Commander 
H.  C.  Taylor,  U.  S.  N.,  with  the  co-operation 
of  the  society's  president,  Judge  Charles  P. 
Daly.  That  discussion  resulted  in  the  forming 

68 


of  an  association  of  prominent  men  in  October 
20th  of  the  same  year,  to  secure  a  new  concession 
from  the  government  of  Nicaragua,  and  to 
organize  and  incorporate  such  companies  as 
were  necessary  to  accomplish  the  work.  Under 
an  Act  of  Congress,  approved  February  20, 
1889,  the  Maritime. Canal  Company  of  Nicara- 
gua was  organized  on  May  4th  of  the  same  year. 
The  incorporators  named  in  the  act  were  Fred- 
erick Billings,  Charles  P.  Daly,  Daniel  Ammen, 
Francis  A.  Stout,  Horace  L.  Hotchkiss,  Ed- 
ward F.  Beale,  Hiram  Hitchcock,  C.  Kidgely 
Goodwin,  A.  C.  Cheney,  J.  F.  O'Shaughnessy, 
H.  C.  Taylor,  J.  W.  Miler,  A.  S.  Crowninshield, 
A.  G.  Menocal,  C.  H.  Stebbins,  T.  Harrison 
Garrett,  Jules  Aldige,  R.  A.  Lancaster,  A.  E. 
Mills,  G.  E.  Kissell,  H.  Fairbanks,  George  H. 
Robinson,  A.  B.  Darling,  J.  E.  McDonald,  James 
Roosevelt,  Christian  Devries,  F.  E.  Thompson 
and  Henry  Parr.  Soon  after  the  Nicaragua 
Canal  Construction  Company  was  organized  to 
do  the  work  under  a  contract  with  the  Mari- 
time Canal  Company,  Hiram  Hitchcock  was 
elected  president  of  the  Maritime  Company, 

and  has  filled  the  office  up  to  the  present  time. 

71 


The  first  president  of  the  Construction  Com- 
pany was  Francis  A.  Stout,  the  second;  A.  C. 
Cheney.  The  latter  was  succeeded,  on  March 
5,  1890,  by  ex-United  States  Senator  Warner 
Miller,  who  afterward  directed  the  work  on  the 
canal. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  preliminary  asso- 
ciation was  to  send  Mr.  Menocal  to  Nicaragua 
to  treat  for  a  new  concession.  This  was 
speedily  arranged,  ratified  by  the  Nicaraguan 
government,  April  24,  1887,  and  according  to 
one  of  its  conditions,  made  binding  by  the  pay- 
ment within  sixty  days  thereafter  of  $100,000 
to  the  government,  to  be  forfeited  in  case  work 
should  not  be  commenced,  but  to  be  applied 
on  account  of  police  protection  if  the  work  was 
carried  on.  The  boundary  dispute  between 
Nicaragua  and  Costa  Rica  made  it  expedient  to 
secure  a  concession  from  the  latter  republic 
also,  and  one  embodying  all  that  the  associa- 
tion desired  was  negotiated  by  Mr.  Menocal 
and  ratified  by  the  Costa  Rican  Government, 
August  9,  1888. 

All  of  this  preliminary  work  was,  of  course, 
accomplished  before  the  incorporation  of  the 

72 


Maritime  Company.  The  association,  mean- 
while, did  not  confine  itself  to  negotiations. 
Mr.  Menocal  was  appointed  Chief  Engineer, 
and  in  November,  1887,  R.  E.  Peary,  as  sub- 
chief  engineer,  was  sent  with  an  engineering 
corps  to  Nicaragua  to  locate  the  route  of  the 
canal  and  make  the  final  surveys.  The  corps 
consisted  of  six  land  parties,  one  hydrographic 
party  and  two  boring  parties,  and  embraced 
about  forty -five  engineers,  rod  and  chain  men, 
and  one  hundred  laborers.  It  reached  Grey- 
town  on  December  9th,  and  at  once  set  to  work. 
It  was  shortly  after  joined  by  Mr.  Menocal,  and 
was  reinforced  from  time  to  time  as  the  work 
progressed. 

Two  facts  must  be  briefly  noted  before  pro- 
ceeding to  describe  the  work  accomplished. 
In  August,  1890,  one,  A.  L.  Blackman,  who 
claimed  to  have  some  rights  in  conflict  with  the 
canal,  procured  the  introduction  into  the 
National  House  of  Representatives  of  a  bill  to 
repeal  the  charter  of  the  Maritime  Canal  Com- 
pany, but  that  attempt  to  embarrass  the  com- 
pany resulted  only  in  a  confirmation  of  its  rights. 
The  Committee  on  Commerce,  to  which  the 

73 


bill  was  referred,  within  a  few  days  presented 
an  adverse  report,  which  concluded  as  follows: 
"It  would  be  a  gross  breach  of  faith  for  the 
United  States  government  to  permit  in  any 
way  the  embarrassment  of  the  project  by  con- 
sidering unfounded  propositions  from  any 
source  for  the  repeal  of  the  company's  charter. 
When  completed,  as  we  have  no  doubt  it  will 
be  at  the  earliest  possible  date,  it  will  prove  of 
greater  importance  and  benefit  to  the  United 
States  than  any  other  similar  work  in  our  his- 
tory. It  will  make  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
coasts  substantially  one  and  be  of  incalculable 
advantage  in  the  development  of  the  trade  of 
California,  Oregon  and  Washington." 

The  other  fact  referred  to  was  the  introduc- 
tion into  the  United  States  Senate  by  Senator 
Sherman  on  January  10,  1891,  of  a  bill  giving 
the  government  guarantee  to  the  principal  and 
interest,  at  four  per  cent,  per  annum,  of  $100,- 
000,000  of  bonds  to  be  issued  by  the  Canal  Com- 
pany for  construction  purposes.  It  required 
$70,000,000  of  the  capital  stock  of  the  company 
to  be  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  to  secure  the  repayment  of  any 

74 


amounts  advanced  by  the  government,  which 
was  also  given  an  option  to  purchase  the  whole 
of  this  stock  at  any  time  before  the  maturity  of 
the  bonds.  The  President  was  authorized  to 
appoint  six  of  the  company's  directors,  and  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  given  the  power 
to  vote  at  his  discretion  on  the  stock  in  his 
keeping.  This  bill  was  originated  by  the  Sen- 
ate Committee  on  Foreign  Eelations,  without 
any  solicitation  or  suggestion  on  the  part  of  the 
men  who  had  undertaken  the  work  of  building 
the  canal,  but  these,  although  the  bill  practi- 
cally proposed  to  deprive  them  of  the  profits  of 
their  venture,  consented  to  accept  its  pro- 
visions in  view  of  the  national  character  and 
importance  of  the  enterprise.  However,  pres- 
sure of  other,  and  at  the  time  more  engrossing, 
public  business,  delayed  action  on  the  bill  until 
the  closing  days  of  the  session,  and  then  Sen- 
ator Sherman  gave  notice  that,  because  of  lack 
of  time  for  sufficient  discussion,  it  would  not  be 
called  up  for  further  consideration  at  that  ses- 
sion. The  failure  of  the  senate  to  act  on  the 
measure  restored  the  company  to  its  previous 
status,  and  it  proceeded  at  once  to  demonstrate 

75 


to  the  capitalists  of  the  world  the  feasibility 
of  the  enterprise.  With  this  end  in  view  Pres- 
ident Warner  Miller,  of  the  Construction  Com- 
pany, with  a  party  of  engineers  and  capitalists, 
visited  Nicaragua  in  April,  1891,  and  made  a 
personal  inspection  of  the  work  accomplished 
and  of  the  entire  route  of  the  canal. 

The  work  done  may  conveniently  be  con- 
sidered, according  to  its  kind,  under  four  dif- 
ferent heads.  First,  in  the  order  of  its  prosecu- 
tion, come  the  surveys  and  location  of  the 
route;  second,  the  establishment  of  a  plant 
and  the  erection  of  buildings;  third,  the  im- 
provement of  the  harbor  of  Grey  town;  fourth, 
the  actual  work  of  construction.  An  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  topography  and  physical 
structure  of  the  country  through  which  the 
canal  is  to  pass  was  an  essential  prerequisite 
to  the  commencement  of  the  work  of  construc- 
tion. That  knowledge  could  be  acquired  only 
by  careful  and  elaborate  surveys  of  the  pro- 
posed route.  The  fundamental  mistake  made 
by  the  Frenchmen  at  Panama  was  in  plunging 
into  the  work  without  making  themselves  ac- 
quainted with  the  difficulties  they  would  have 

76 


to  encounter.  Had  they  made  in  advance  a, 
careful  examination  of  the  proposed  route,  they 
never  would  have  found  it  necessary,  before 
the  work  was  very  far  advanced,  to  change 
their  plans  from  the  construction  of  a  canal  of 
uniform  level  to  one  with  locks,  or  have  be- 
come involved  in  the  hopeless  task  of  cutting 
through  a  mountain  of  unstable  clay  and  sand. 
The  importance  attached  by  the  managers  of  the 
Nicaragua  Canal  to  a  thorough  survey  of  the 
route,  is  shown,  not  less  by  the  fact  that  this 
branch  of  the  work  was  steadily  prosecuted  for 
nearly  three  years  and  a  half,  than  by  the  still 
more  striking  fact  that,  although  the  actual  cut- 
ting required  for  the  canal  is  only  about  twenty- 
six  miles,  the  surveys,  including  cross  sections, 
location  of  locks,  darns,  embankments,  rail- 
roads, flowage  lines,  etc.,  aggregate  fully  4,000 
miles. 

Besides  this  thorough  examination  of  the 
surface  of  the  country,  the  boring  parties  made 
an  exhaustive  inquiry  into  the  character  of  the 
soil  and  the  underlying  rock  over  the  entire 
route  of  the  canal.  One  of  the  most  important 

results  of  this  vast  preparatory  labor  is  that  ac- 

77 


curate  calculations  can  be  made  of  the  cost  of 
excavating  the  material  to  be  taken  out  of  the 
cuttings.  The  difficulties  encountered  in 
carrying  out  this  work  were  of  the  most  formid- 
able nature.  The  men  had  literally  to  cut 
their  way,  with  ax  and  machete,  through  an 
otherwise  impenetrable  forest.  It  many  places 
they  were  forced  to  struggle  over  a  miry  soil, 
or  work  in  water  up  to  their  armpits.  They 
were  also  exposed  to  drenching  rains  daily  dur- 
ing six  months  of  each  year.  It  is  a  conclusive 
proof  of  the  healthfulness  of  the  climate  that, 
although  these  men  slept  on  the  ground,  with- 
out shelter,  when  on  the  march,  or  on  cote  or 
cane  beds,  in  tents  or  rudely  constructed  build- 
ings, when  in  camp,  there  was  not  a  single 
death,  nor  even  a  case  of  serious  illness,  during 
the  three  years  and  a  half  in  which  the  surveys 
were  carried  on.  The  men  were,  of  course,  well 
fed  and  subjected  to  strict  sanitary  rules,  the 
more  noteworthy  of  which  were,  that  each 
day's  work  was  preceded  by  a  cup  of  strong 
coffee  and  followed  by  the  exchange  of  wet 
clothing  for  dry. 
The  first  construction  party,  consisting  of 

78 


forty-seven  engineers  and  their  assistants,  was 
sent  out  from  New  York  on  May  26,  1889.  It 
arrived  at  Grey  town  on  June  8th,  and  at  once 
began  the  erection  of  a  working  plant.  At  that 
time  there  was  no  entrance  from  the  ocean  to 
the  harbor  of  Greytown.  The  supplies  and 
material  required  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
work  had  -either  to  be  landed  upon  the  unpro- 
tected beach,  from  vessels  anchored  two  miles 
away,  in  the  open  ocean,  or  carried  in  lighters 
through  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado,  twenty 
miles  below,  and  thence  by  a  tortuous  and 
narrow  creek  to  the  town.  The  heavy  swell 
constantly  thrown  on  the  coast  by  the  strong 
northeast  tradewind  made  the  landing  of 
weighty  machinery  an  especially  tedious  and 
dangerous  undertaking.  Nevertheless  these 
obstacles  were  overcome  without  accident,  and 
before  the  end  of  the  summer  much  material 
was  accumulated  on  the  spot.  The  labor  sup- 
ply at  Greytown  was  altogether  inadequate  to 
the  requirements  of  the  company,  and  it  was 
forced  to  import  negro  laborers  from  the 
island  of  Jamaica. 

Still,  by  the  end  of   1890,  an   active   working 

79 


force  of  about  2,000  men  was  collected   along 
the  line  of  the  canal. 

The  erection  of  wharves,  storehouses, 
machine  shops  and  buildings  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  officers  and  laborers  was  the 
first  work  that  engaged  the  construction  party 
after  its  arrival  at  Grey  town.  By  the  terms  of 
the  concession,  the  company  was  to  acquire 
whatever  land  it  needed  for  buildings  and  the 
purposes  of  construction,  in  the  case  of  public 
lands  without  cost,  and  in  the  case  of  private 
lands  at  the  expense  of  expropriation  by  the 
government.  A  site  bordering  the  ocean,  at 
the  northern  end  of  the  lagoon,  which,  consti- 
tutes the  harbor  of  Grey  town,  was  selected,  and 
there  the  required  buildings  were  erected. 
This  settlement,  which  is  on  both  sides  of  the 
canal  line  and  between  two  and  three  miles 
from  Greytown,  was  called  America.  The  hos- 
pital accommodations,  embracing  ten  build- 
ings; the  officers'  headquarters, eight  buildings; 
the  depot  of  general  supplies,  eight  buildings, 
are  north  of  the  canal  line.  The  machine  shops 
and  railroad  headquarters,  nine  buildings,  and 
the  laborers'  quarters,  four  buildings,  are  south 

80 


of  the  canal.  In  these  five  groups  there  are, 
irrespective  of  sheds,  small  outhouses,  water 
tanks,  etc.,  thirty -nine  buildings,  embracing 
75,902  square  feet  of  floor.,  The  buildings  are 
constructed  of  yellow  pine  from  the  United 
States,  with  corrugated  iron  roofs.  The  ma- 
chine shop  and  smithery  are  equipped  with  the 
latest  machine  tools  for  making  or  repairing 
ponderous  machinery,  such  as  bridge  machin- 
ery, stationary  engines  or  locomotives.  These 
shops  are  manned  by  an  efficient  corps  of  ma- 
chinists from  the  United  States. 

The  first  important  step  taken  by  the  com- 
pany in  the  direction  of  actual  construction  of 
the  canal  was  the  improvement  of  the  harbor 
of  Greytown.  Thirty  years  ago  the  San  Juan 
Kiver  discharged  into  a  capacious  harbor,  and 
there  was  a  channel  to  the  sea  admitting  the 
largest  ocean  vessels.  But  about  1866  the 
river  changed  its  course  to  what  is  now  called 
the  Colorado  mouth,  twenty  miles  further 
south,  the  sea  entrance  to  the  harbor  shoaled 
until  it  was  barred  by  a  beach  four  feet  above 
high  water  mark,  and  Greytown  was  left  on  an 
inland  lagoon.  Chief  Engineer  Menocal's  de- 

83 


duction  from  observations  was  that  this  beach 
was  the  result  of  the  combined  action  of  a 
northwesterly  current,  which  sets  strongly  up 
the  coast,  and  the  northeast  trade  wind,  which 
blows  almost  constantly,  often  at  the  rate  of 
twenty  miles  an  hour.  The  sand  brought 
down  to  the  sea  by  the  San  Juan  is  taken  up 
by  the  current  and  forced  inshore  by  the 
action  of  the  wind.  Mr.  Menocal's  plan  for 
re-opening  the  harbor  was  to  build  a  jetty  or 
breakwater,  at  right  angles  to  the  shore  line, 
1,800  feet  out  to  sea.  This  work  was  begun  in 
October,  1889,  at  a  point  on  the  beach  about  a 
mile  north  of  Grey  town.  It  is  forty -two  feet 
wide  and  built  of  six  parallel  rows  of  piles, 
connected  by  stringpieces  and  girders.  The 
spaces  between  the  rows  of  piles  were  filled 
with  brush  and  weighted  with  rock.  When  the 
breakwater  had  been  pushed  out  500  feet  from 
the  shore,  the  sea  cut  a  channel  along  its 
northern  edge  into  the  harbor.  This  channel 
was  soon  about  500  feet  wide,  and  it  increased 
in  depth  as  the  breakwater  was  extended.  At 
the  same  time  the  beach  advanced  seaward 
steadily  on  the  south  side  of  the  breakwater 

84 


and  gave  that   structure  a  revertment  of  solid 
land. 

By  the  beginning  of  1891,  about  1,000  feet  of 
the  breakwater  had  been  constructed,  and  a 
depth  of  about  fifteen  feet  of  water  in  the  chan- 
nel secured.  Work  on  the  breakwater  had  to 
be  suspended  about  this  time,  however,  in 
consequence  of  the  failure  of  the  supply  of  rock 
needed  in  its  construction.  A  small  quarry, 
accessible  to  boats,  had  been  opened  on  Silico 
Lake,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  scene  of  the 
work.  It  was  foreseen  at  the  outset,  however, 
that  this  source  of  supply  would  not  last,  and 
by  the  time  it  failed,  the  railroad  planned  to 
parallel  the  canal  for  the  transportation  of 
material  was  far  advanced  toward  the  eastern 
divide,  where  the  supply  of  rock  is  inexhaust- 
ible. After  the  building  of  the  breakwater 
had  passed  the  600-foot  limit,  it  became  ap- 
parent that  in  order  to  protect  the  channel  from 
the  shoaling  effect  of  eddies,  it  would  be  nec- 
essary to  build  another  jetty  parallel  to  the 
first.  The  second  was  located  about  200  yards 
north  of  the  first  and  constructed  in  the  same 
manner,  It  had  been  advanced  about  400  feet 

85 


when  the  supply  of  rock  gave  out,  and  had 
already  shown  its  efficacy  to  keep  the  channel 
open.  To  prevent  back-cutting,  a  wing-wall  of 
sheet  piling,  about  700  feet  long,  was  extended 
from  the  rear  of  the  main  breakwater  into  the 
lagoon.  The  piles  are  yellow  pine  from  the 
United  States,  chiefly  from  North  Carolina,  and 
are  thoroughly  creosoted  to  protect  them  from 
the  attacks  of  that  destructive  marine  insect,  the 
teredo.  The  Jiarbor  of  Grey  town  is  capacious 
and  well  protected.  It  is  between  two  and 
three  miles  long  by  about  one  mile  wide,  and 
generally  has  a  depth  of  ten  to  twenty  feet.  In 
some  places  the  water  is  deeper,  but  the  com- 
pany proposes  to  secure  by  dredging  a  uniform 
depth  of  thirty  feet  over  an  area  of  200  acres, 
which,  with  the  enlarged  section  of  the  port 
reach  of  the  canal,  will  give  about  350  acres  of 
harbor  room  for  vessels  of  the  largest  draft. 
The  first  ocean  vessel  to  enter  the  harbor  after  an 
interruption  to  navigation  of  nearly  thirty 
years,  was  the  steamship  Sverdrup,  on  January 
7,  1891. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  con- 
struction of  a  railroad.     That  work  was  begun 

86 


in  the  summer  of  1890,  and  undertaken  to  meet 
the  necessity  for  the  establishment  of  a  plant 
to  do  the  heavy  rock  cutting  in  the  eastern 
divide,  about  thirteen  miles  from  Greytown,  as 
well  as  for  the  transportation  of  other  heavy 
material,  notably  the  rock  required  for  the 
building  of  the  breakwaters.  The  difficulties  in 
the  way  were  unusual  and  demanded  the  exer- 
cise of  ingenuity  as  well  as  extraordinary  labor. 
The  line  was  located  in  close  proximity  to  the 
southern  bank  of  the  canal,  and  it  cuts  straight 
through  the  primeval  forest  that  borders  the 
coast.  In  addition  to  the  formidable  obstacle 
presented  by  the  tangled  vegetation  and  gigan- 
tic trees,  which  constitute  the  forest,  the  soil 
is  miry  for  at  least  six  miles  from  the  harbor 
and  wholly  unfit  for  the  construction  of  a  road- 
bed. During  the  rainy  season  this  part  of  the  for- 
est is  flooded  with  water,  from  one  to  four  feet 
deep.  To  meet  the  requirements  of  the  case, 
a  corduroy  of  heavy  logs,  floated,  rolled,  or 
dragged  by  hand  to  the  spot,  was  built  across 
the  swamp,  and  upon  stringpieces  placed  upon 
this  the  ties  and  rails  were  laid.  As  the  rails 
were  extended,  sand  taken  from  the  canal  ex- 

'87 


cavation  was  run  out  on  platform  cars  and 
dumped  along  the  line  of  the  road.  This  sand 
is  heavy,  coarse,  and  well  suited  to  the  pur- 
pose. By  these  slow  and  toilsome  steps  a  sub- 
stantial roadbed  was  built,  the  ties  and  rails 
being  raised  by  degrees  until  the  desired  grade 
was  established.  At  the  beginning  of  1892, 
eleven  miles  of  the  road  had  been  completed. 
It  is  of  standard  gauge,  laid  with  fifty-six  pound 
American  steel  rails.  At  the  harbor  terminus 
of  the  road  a  substantial  pier  has  been  built, 
264  feet  long,  and  equipped  with  steam  appli- 
ances for  handling  freight.  Another  accessory 
work  of  importance,  begun  soon  after  the  ar- 
rival of  the  first  construction  party  at  Grey- 
town,  was  the  building  of  a  telegraph  line  to 
connect  with  the  government  telegraph  system 
at  Castillo,  sixty  miles  distant,  and  through 
that,  with  the  Central  and  South  American 
cable,  which  runs  along  the  Pacific  Coast  and 
affords  communication  with  the  United  States. 
The  building  of  this  telegraph  line  was  a  much 
more  expensive  and  difficult  work  than  would 
at  first  be  supposed,  as  in  order  to  protect  the 
wires  from  falling  timber,  it  was  necessary  to 

88 


make  a  clearing  through  the  forest  100  feet 
wide.  The  telegraph  line  was  completed  early 
in  1891. 

We  come  now  to  the  actual  work  of  construct- 
ing, the  canal.  No  better  illustration  can  be 
offered  of  the  vast  amount  of-praUminary  work 
involved  in  a  great  undertaking  than  the  fact 
that,  even  in  this  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of 
the  canal,  so  much  space  has  of  necessity  been 
occupied  in  describing  the  preparatory  steps. 
The  actual  work  of  construction  was  begun  in 
January,  1890,  with  the  clearing  of  the  forest 
from  the  linai)f  the  canal.  The  clearing  is  486 
feet  wide.  Viewed  from  the  deck  of  a  vessel 
in  the  harbor  of  Greytown,  it  has  the  appear- 
ance of  a  grand  avenue  through  the  forest, 
affording  a  glimpse  of  the  distant  mountains. 
It  has  been  carried  to  the  foot  of  the  hills  about 
ten  miles  from  the  harbor.  The  forest  will  be 
fully  described  in  a  succeeding  chapter.  In 
this  connection  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that 
its  chief  characteristics  are  gigantic  trees 
covered  with  tangled  masses  of  vines  and  a 
dense  growth  of  underbrush.  After  being 
felled,  the  timber  and  brush  were  burnt  off  the 

89 


clearing  and  the  stumps  blown  up  with  dyna- 
mite. 

In  the  fall  of  1890  the  plant  of  the  American 
Contracting  and  Dredging  Company,  which  had 
been  purchased  in  the  preceding  summer,  was 
transported  from  Aspinwall  to  Greytown.  It 
included,  among  much  other  valuable  property, 
seven  powerful  floating  dredges.  One  of  these 
was  lost  on  the  voyage,  but  the  others  reached 
Greytown  in  good  order,  and  two  of  them,  the 
City  of  Paris  and  M.  A.  Slaven,  were  shortly 
afterward  set  to  work  on  the  canal.  These  are 
really  wonderful  machines  and  merit  a  brief 
description.  Each  has  forty-two  huge  iron 
buckets,  traveling  by  an  endless  chain  up  and 
down  an  inclined  ladder.  The  buckets  have 
each  a  capacity  for  lifting  a  cubic  meter  of 
earth,  but  they  actually  lift  only  a  cubic  yard. 
They  dump  the  earth  excavated  into  a  well 
about  seventy-five  feet  above  the  deck  of  the 
dredge.  Three  eight-inch  streams  of  water 
thrown  into  the  well  force  the  earth  through  a 
discharge  pipe  two  feet  in  diameter  and  200 
feet  long.  The  water  runs  off  into  the  forest 
and  the  earth  remains  in  an  immense  embank- 

90 


ment  on  the  side  of  the  canal.  The  ladder 
over  which  the  buckets  travel  is  raised  or 
lowered  by  a  mammoth  crane  and  swung 
from  side  to  side  by  guys  worked  on  steam 
winches,  so  that  the  buckets  can  excavate  at 
any  angle.  Each  dredge  excavates  about  fif- 
teen cubic  yards  of  earth  a  minute.  Working 
abreast  the  two  dredges  named  cut  the  canal, 
as  they  proceeded,  to  its  full  width,  280  feet. 
However,  they  cut  only  seventeen  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  as  the  required 
depth  of  water  in  the  canal  is  twenty -eight 
feet,  the  remaining  eleven  feet  will  be  cut  by 
other  dredges  following  behind  these.  About 
one  mile  of  the  canal  had  been  opened  at  the 
close  of  1891.  At  the  same  time  about  nine 
miles  of  the  canal  clearing  had  been  made 
through  the  forest  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the 
lake. 

A  brief  glance  at  the  canal  route  in  its  en- 
tirety, before  proceeding  to  consider  the  work 
remaining  to  be  done,  will  give  the  reader  a 
more  comprehensive  grasp  of  the  subject.  The 
distance  from  Greytown  to  Brito^  the  Pacific 
terminus  of  the  canal,  is  169^  miles.  The  actual 

93 


excavation  required,  however,  is  only  26|  miles, 
of  which  15^  miles  are  between  Grey  town  and 
the  San  Juan  River,  and  11 J  miles  between  the 
lake  and  the  Pacific.  The  distance  traversed 
by  the  canal  to  the  San  Juan  is  31  f  miles,  of 
which  16|  will  be  through  artificial  lakes  or 
basins.  The  course  of  the  canal  between  the 
lake  and  the  Pacific  will  also  be  through  an 
artificial  lake  5J  miles  long.  For  the  major 
part  of  the  distance  between  the  two  oceans, 
sixty-five  miles  of  river  and  fifty-six  miles  of 
lake  navigation  will  be  utilized.  Tliree  locks, 
within  thirteen  miles  of  the  Atlantic,  will  lift 
the  canal  106  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean, 
and  the  natural  incline  of  the  river,  which  is 
three -fourths  of  an  inch  per  mile  from  the  lake 
to  the  point  of  junction,  will  raise  it  to  the  sum- 
mit level,  110  feet.  Three  locks  within  3J 
miles  of  the  Pacific  will  lower  it  to  that  ocean. 
Thus  the  summit  level  of  the  canal  will  be  153J 
miles  long. 

Although  a  work  of  great  magnitude,  no  in- 
superable engineering  difficulties  are  presented 
anywhere  along  the  route.  The  hardest  part  of 
the  work  lies  in  the  eastern  and  San  Francisco 

94 


divisions.  The  eastern  division  extends  18? 
miles,  from  Greytown  harbor  to  the  western 
end  of  the  eastern  divide  cut,  and  the  San  Fran- 
cisco division,  12^  miles,  through  the  basin  of 
a  river  of  that  name,  from  the  cut  to  the  San 
Juan.  For  9J  miles,  from  Greytown  harbor  to 
the  first  lock,  situated  in  the  foothills  of  the 
eastern  divide,  the  course  of  the  canal  is  south- 
west across  the  flat  alluvial  coast  lands,  where 
the  excavation  will  be  made  entirely  by  the 
floating  dredges.  This  section  of  the  canal, 
which  will  preserve  the  sea  level,  will  have  a 
surface  width  of  280  feet,  a  bottom  width  of  120 
feet,  a  depth  of  twenty-eight  feet  and  a  water- 
way cross  section  of  5,712  square  feet,  or  2,012 
square  feet  more  than  the  cross  section  of  the 
Suez  Canal.  All  of  the  locks  on  the  canal  will 
be  650  feet  long,  eighty  feet  wide,  and  capable 
of  receiving  at  the  same  time  two  vessels  of 
2,500  tons  each.  Lock  No.  1  will  have  a  lift  of 
thirty-one  feet;  Lock  2,  situated  1 4  miles  fur- 
ther west,  will  have  a  lift  of  thirty  feet,  and 
Lock  3,  2J  miles  beyond  the  second,  a  lift  of 
forty_-five  feet.  Between  Locks  1  and  2,  the 
canal  will  be  carried  through  an  artificial  basin 

95 


formed  by  damming  the  valley  of  a  little  stream, 
called  the  Deseado.  A  second  basin  is  created 
by  embankments  above  Lock  2,  while  above 
Lock  3  is  formed  an  artificial  lake  about  three 
miles  long  and  from  thirty  to  seventy  feet 
deep.  In  the  first  two  basins  some  excavation 
will  be  necessary  in  places  to  secure  the  re- 
quired depth,  but  these,  like  the  third,  will 
afford  ample  room  for  the  passage  of  ships  in 
opposite  directions. 

The  heaviest  cutting  along  the  whole  line  is 
through  the  eastern  divide,  at  the  western  end 
of  the  artificial  lake  just  spoken  of.  The  ridge 
to  be  pierced,  a  spur  of  the  main  Cordillera,  is 
2.9  miles  wide,  and  at  its  crest,  which  is,  how- 
ever, a  mere  "backbone,"  298  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  canal.  The  average  cutting 
through  the  ridge  is  141  feet  to  the  floor  of  the 
canal,  and  it  constitutes  twenty -one  per  cent, 
of  all  the  excavation  required  on  the  work. 
Excepting  a  comparatively  thin  overlying  layer 
of  earth,  the  material  to  be  excavated  is  rock, 
which  is  indispensable  in  the  construction  of 
the  breakwaters  at  Greytown,  and  the  Ochoa 
and  other  dams  in  close  proximity  to  the  divide. 

96 


The  labor  involved  can  be  greatly  economized 
by  utilizing  ample  water-power,  near  at  hand 
on  either  side  of  the  cutting,  for  driving  the  ex- 
cavating machinery,  furnishing  electric  lights, 
etc.  West  of  the  divide  cut  a  series  of  em- 
bankments converting  the  connecting  valleys  of 
the  Limpio,  Chanchos  and  San  Francisco,  the 
Florida  lagoon,  and  the  valley  of  the  Macha- 
do,  into  an  artificial  lake  12J  miles  long,  con- 
stitute the  San  Francisco  division,  which  takes 
the  canal  into  the  San  Juan  Kiver,  immediately 
above  the  Ochoa  Dam.  This  dam,  which  is  to  be 
built  across  the-San  Juan  Kiver,  between  two 
lofty  hills,  is  to  be  1,900  feet  long  and -seventy 
feet  high.  It  will  raise  the  water  of  the  river 
fifty -six  feet,  or  to  within  four  feet  of  the  level 
of  Lake  Nicaragua,  and  afford  slack  water 
navigation  to  the  lake.  Some  minor  embank- 
ments will  also  have  to  be  built  across  gaps  in 
the  impounding  hills  of  the  San  Carlos,  the 
Costa  Eican  tributary  of  the  San  Juan,  which  it 
joins  a  few  miles  above  the  Ochoa  Dam.  The 
San  Carlas~is  the  river  which  brings  down  from 
the  Costa  Kican  mountains  the  silt  that  closed 
up  the  harbor  of  Greytown.  The  Ochoa  Dam 

G  97 


will,  by  arresting  its  current,  stop  the  discharge 
of  silt,  and,  by  backing  up  its  water,  extend 
navigation  for  many  miles*  into  the  territory  of 
Costa  Eica.  Ample  provision  will,  of  course, 
be  made  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Ochoa  Dam  for 
the  discharge  by  weirs  and  guard  gates  of  the 
overflow  of  the  two  rivers. 

The  river  division  of  the  canal  will  have  a 
surface  width  of  from  500  to  1,500  feet.  Some 
of  the  bends  of  the  river  will  be  improved  by 
cutting  away  projecting  promontories,  and 
blasting  and  dredging  to  an  avarage  depth  of  4^ 
feet  will  be  necessary  in  some  places  over  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty-four  miles,  between  the  Toro 
Kapids  and  the  lake.  Dredging  in  soft  mud  to 
an  average  depth  of  ten  feet,  for  fourteen  miles 
in  the  lake  from  the  head  of  the  San  Juan 
Kiver,  will  also  be  necessary  to  secure  a  thirty- 
foot  channel  into  deep  water.  Of  the  56J 
miles  of  lake  navigation,  more  then  forty-two 
are  through  deep  water.  Dredging  will  be  nec- 
essary, however,  for  1,400  feet  from  the  west 
shore.  Here  also,- two  jetties,  one  of  1,800,  the 
other  of  2,400  feet,  will  be  constructed  to  pro- 
tect the  entrance  of  the  canal  from  the  swell, 

98 


which  is  produced  on  this  side  of  the  lake  by 
the  trade  wind. 

The  western  division  extends  from  the  lake 
to  the  Pacific  and  covers  17.04  miles.  The 
greatest  elevation  crossed  here  is  forty -two  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  lake.  The  canal  leaves 
the  lake  at  the  mouth  of  a  little  stream  called 
the  Lajas,  about  midway  between  La  Virgen 
and  St.  Jorge,  and  passes  through  the  depres- 
sion pointed  out  by  Colonel  Childs  in  1854.  For 
the  first  LJ  miles  from  the  lake  it  will  have  a 
surface  width  of  210  feet,  and  a  bottom  width  of 
120  feet.  Through  the  succeeding  five  miles  of 
deepest  cutting,  it  will  have  a  bottom  width  of 
eighty  feet.  Between  the  divide  and  the  Tola 
basin  it  will  have  a  bottom  width  of  eighty 
feet  and  a  surface  width  of  184  feet.  The  ex- 
cavation will  be  chiefly  through  rock.  The 
Tola  basin  will  be  5J  miles  long,  one  mile  wide, 
and  have  a  depth  of  water  of  from  thirty  to 
seventy  feet.  For  4J  miles  it  will  require  no 
work  at  all. 

To  create  this  basin,  a  dam  1,800  feet  long 
and  seventy  feet  high,  will  be  constructed  at  a 

place  called  La  Flor.     The  three  locks  on  the 

101 


Pacific  side  will  be  situated  close  together  near 
the  La  Flor  Dam.  The  two  upper  locks  will 
each  have  a  lift  of  42  J  feet,  while  the  lowest 
will  have  a  variable  lift  of  twenty-one  to  twenty- 
nine  feet,  according  to  the  state  of  the  tide. 
This  last  lock  is  situated  1£  miles  from  the 
Pacific,  and  the  intervening  section  of  the  canal 
will  be  288  feet  wide  at  the  surface,  and  120 
feet  wide  at  the  bottom.  The  location  of  Brito 
is  marked  at  the  present  time  merely  by  a 
bight  in  the  shore,  formed  by  a  rocky  promon- 
tory which  juts  into  the  ocean  at  the  north  side 
of  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream,  called  the  Eio 
Grande.  From  the  extremity  of  this  promon- 
tory a  breakwater  900  feet  long  will  be  extended 
to  the  seven-fathom  limit.  Another  break- 
water 830  feet  long  will  be  built  out  from  the 
beach  to  a  point  800  feet  distant  from  the  sea  end 
of  the  first,  so  as  to  inclose  a  considerable  area 
of  deep  water.  A  broad,  deep  basin  will  also 
be  excavated  inland  for  3,000  feet  from  the 
shore  line,  to  give  ample  harbor  room. 

The  estimated   time  for  the  transit  of  the 
canal  by  steam  vessels  is  twenty-eight  hours. 

The  chief  engineer's  final  estimate  of  the  cost 

102 


of  the  canal  is  $65,084,176,  but  a  board  of  con- 
sulting engineers,  to  whom  the  plans  and  official 
data  were  submitted  in  1889,  estimated  that  the 
cost  would  be  $87,799,570.  According  to  Mr. 
Menocal's  calculations  the  canal  will  be  able 
to  carry  annually  11,680  vessels,  with  an  aggre- 
gate of  20,440,000  tons,  which  is  more  than 
double  the  present  traffic  through  the  Suez 
Canal.  As  the  canal  will  save  10,753  miles  for 
sailing  vessels,  and  8,267  for  steamers,  between 
New  York  and  San  Francisco,  and  7,993  and 
5,867,  respectively,  for  the  same  craft  between 
Liverpool  and  San  Francisco,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  it  will  command  a  traffic  equal  to  if 
not  greater  than  that  of  Suez. 

Work  on  the  canal  was  stopped  fnr  1anlr  "f 
money  in  1892>jajid  in  the  summer  of  1893  the 
Construction  Company  went  into  the  hands  of 
a  receiver.  It  was  subsequently  reorganized, 
and  an  unsuccessful  effort  was  made  to  raise 
the  money  needed  abroad.  Concurrently  a 
movement  was  inaugurated  to  secure  govern- 
ment aid,  but  the  measure  failed  to  go  through 
Congress.  However,  in  the  Sundry  Civil  Ap- 
propriation Bill,  passed  in  1895,  provision  was 

103 


made  for  a  government  survey  of  the  route 
with  a  view  to  ascertaining  the  cost  of  con- 
struction, and  in  accordance  with  that  act  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  appointed  a  board  of  survey, 
consisting  of  Lieutentant-Colonel  William  Lud- 
low,  U.  S.  A.;  Civil  Engineer  M.  T.  Endicott, 
U.  S.  N. ;  and  Alfred  Noble,  of  Illinois.  The 
report  of  that  board  was  inconclusive  and  un- 
satisfactory, and  Congress  subsequently  appro- 
priated $150,000  to  continue  the  surveys.  Under 
this  provision  President  McKinley,  in  July, 
1897,  appointed  Keal-Admiral  John  G.  Walker, 
U.  S.  N.,  retired;  Captain  Oberlin  M.  Carter, 
U.  S.  A.,  and  Lewis  M.  Haupt,  civil  engineer  of 
Pennsylvania,  a  board  to  complete  the  work. 
/  This  board,  after  an  extended  sojourn  in  Nica- 
ragua, recently  reported  that  the  project  was 
entirely  feasible,  but  estimated  that  the  cost  of 
the  canal  will  be  fully  $120,000,000,  or  nearly 
twice  as  much  as  Mr.  Menocal's  estimate.  It 
also  rBeam mended  a  changain  the  eastern  end 
of  the  route,  by  carrying  along  the  delta  of  the 
San  Juan  Kiver  to  avoid  the  heaviest  cutting  of 
the  divide.  Meanwhile  a  ;  party  of  engineers 
and  contractors,  mostly  of  Chicago,  made  an 

104 


examination  of  the  .route  in  the  interests  of  a  . 
syndicate,  which  has  since  attracted  attention 
by  securing  a  new  concession  from  the  Nicara- 
guan  government  to  date  from  October,  1899, 
when  the  concession  of  the  Maritime  Com- 
pany expires  by  limitation.  This  party  of  sur- 
veyors arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  canal 
could  be  built  for  $100,000,000.  The  Cragin-Eyre 
syndicate,  here  referred  to,  is  composed  of 
some  of  the  strongest  capitalists  in  this  coun- 
try, and  is  understood  to  have  at  least  $100,- 
000,000  pledged  to  be  put  up  at  a  few  days' 
notice. 

The  memorable  trip  of  the  Oregon  from  San 
Francisco  to  Key  West,  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  with  Spain,  has  directed  public  attention 
to  the  necessity  for  a'  shorter  waterway  than 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  between  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  coasts  of  this  country,  and  forced 
the  conviction  that  the  canal  should  be  built 
and  owned  by  the  United  States  government; 
and  this  conviction  recently  found  expression 
in  the  passage  by  the  Senate  of  a  bill  for  that 
purpose  and  carrying  the  necessary  appropria- 
tion. 

105 


At  this  writing  it  is  impossible  to  fore- 
see the  fate  of  the  bill  in  the  House,  but  if  it 
can  be  brought  to  a  vote  it  will  undoubtedly 
be  passed. 


MOUTH    OF   THE    SAN    CARLOS   RIVER    FROM    SAN   JUAN 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FROM  GEEYTOWN  TO  THE  LAKE. 

ALTHOUGH  much  has  been  said  about  the  har- 
bor of  Greytown,  the  town  itself  has  so  far 
claimed  only  an  occasional  reference.  In  ap- 
pearance it  differs  widely  from  Spanish-Ameri- 
can towns,  the  only  point  of  resemblance  being 
the  plaza  or  public  square.  Except  for  the 
palms  and  other  tropical  trees  about  the  houses 
and  open  places,  it  could  readily  be  taken  for  a 
town  in  the  southern  part  of  the  United  States. 
The  buildings  are  all  of  wood,  one  or  two 
stories  in  height,  painted  white,  with  green 
blinds  and  brown  roofs.  Many  of  the  resi- 
dences are  embowered  by  palms  and  tropical 
fruit  trees,  among  which  are  the  large-leaved 
bread-fruit,  the  orange  and  the  mango.  Others 
have  around,  or  in  front  of  them,  pretty  flower 
gardens,  of  which  a  conspicuous  feature  is  a 
lovely  creeper  (Antigonon  leptopus),  with 

clusters  of  pink  and  rose-colored   flowers.     It 

107 


is  called  by  the  natives  lavegessima,  "the  beau- 
tiful." The  public  square  is  covered  with  a 
fine  greensward,  and  in  it  are  many  lofty 
cocoanut  palms,  which  at  the  time  of  my  visit, 
April,  1891,  were  loaded  with  ripening  fruit. 
There  are  numerous  stores,  some  of  them  large 
and  well  stocked,  and  prices  are  surprisingly 
low;  which  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  Grey- 
town  is  a  free  port.  There  are  two  hotels,  the 
Victoria  and  the  San  Juan.  The  former  has 
better  rooms,  but  the  latter  is  preferred  for  its 
table.  Other  features  of  the  town  are  a  well- 
appointed  club  house  and  a  horse  railroad 
through  the  principal  street. 

The  town  is  healthy,  but  not  so  cool  as  Amer- 
ica, because  there  is  a  strip  of  woods  between 
it  and  the  beach,  while  the  latter  is  open  to  the 
ocean.  The  population  is  about  1,500,  includ- 
ing a  considerable  element  cf  North  Americans 
and  Europeans,  in  addition  to  the  usual  mixture 
of  Spanish-Americans  and  half-breeds  com- 
mon to  other  Nicaraguan  towns.  Gambling, 
chiefly  in  the  form  of  keno,  is  openly  carried 
on  all  day  on  Sunday  in  some  of  the  saloons, 
and  cock  fights  in  the  streets  during  the  after- 

108 


noon  are  a  favorable  amusement.  The  princi- 
pal festival  is  Semana  Santa,  "the  feast  of  Holy 
Week,"  when  a  burlesque  performance  of  the 
Passion  Play  is-  given  in  street  pageants. 
Although  until  recently  carried  on  under  great- 
difficulties  much  of  the  foreign  commerce  of 
Nicaragua  has  always  been  done  through  Grey- 
town.  A  line  of  steamers  on  the  San  Juan  brings 
down  rubber,  coffee,  hides,  dyewoods  and 
other  produce  from  the  interior;  there  is  a 
semimonthly  line  of  steamers  to  New  York;  a 
coasting  steamer  connects  at  Bluefields  with  a 
weekly  line  of  steamers  to  New  Orleans;  and  a 
British  mail  steamer  touches  at  the  port  once  a 
month. 

I  have  already  shown  by  trustworthy  statis- 
tics, that  this  part  of  Nicaragua  is  exception- 
ally healthy,  but  as  there  is  a  very  general  be- 
lief to  the  contrary  in  the  United  States,  1  may 
be  permitted  to  quote  the  following  testimony 
of  a  competent  observer:  "Perfectly  level,  sur- 
rounded by  swamps,  and  without  any  system 
of  drainage,  either  natural  or  artificial,  except- 
ing such  as  the  sandy  soil  affords,  Greytown 
might  be  thought  a  very  unhealthy  site  for  a 


town.  Notwithstanding,  however,  its  apparent 
disadvantages,  and  that  for  nine  months  of  the 
year  it  is  subject  to  heavy  tropical  rains,  it  is 
comparatively  healthy,  and  freer  from  fever 
than  many  places  that  appear  at  first  sight  better 
situated.  Much  is  due  to  the  porous  sandy  soil, 
but  more  I  believe  to  what  appears  at  first 
sight  an  element  of  danger,  the  perfect  flatness 
of  the  ground.  Where  there  are  hills  there 
must  be  hollows,  and  in  these  the  air  stag- 
nates; while  here,  where  the  land  is  quite 
level,  the  trade  winds,  that  blow  pretty  con- 
stantly, find  their  way  to  every  part,  and  carry 
off  the  emanations  of  the  soil.  As  a  similar 
instance  I  may  mention  the  city  of  Pernam- 
buco,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Brazil,  containing 
80,000  inhabitants.  It  is  perfectly  levdfflike 
Greytown,  surrounded  and  intersected  with 

channels  of  water,  above  the  level  of  wjjich  it 

,-«< 
only  stands  a  few  feet. 

"The  crowded  parts  of  the  town  are  noted  for 
their  evil  smells  and  filth,  but,  though  entirely 
without  drainage,  it  is  celebrated  for  its  health- 
iness; while  a  little  lower  down  the  coast,  the 

town  of  Maceio,  situated  about  sixty  feet  above 

110 


the  sea,  surrounded  by  undulating  ranges,  and 
with  a  good  natural  drainage,  is  much  more  un- 
healthy, fevers  being  very  prevalent.  As  at 
.Greytown,  so  at  Pernambuco  the  trade  winds 
blow  with  much  regularity,  and  there  are 
neither  hills  nor  hollows  to  interfere  with  the 
free  movements  of  the  air,  so  that  miasmatic 
exhalations  cannot  accumulate."*  This  is  the 
testimony  of  a  highly  scientific  man,  who  lived 
for  several  years  in  Nicaragua. 
I  It  has  already  been  said  that  the  Atlantic 

Recast  of  Nicaragua  is  covered  by  a  primeval 
f. 
forest  which  extends  for  many  miles  inland. 

At  Greytown  it  presents  the  appearance  of  a 
lofty,  greenish  black  wall,  bordering  the  ocean 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  see.  At  America  it  comes 
down  to  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of  the  beach. 
In  the  foreground  is  a  fringe  of  brush  made  up 
to  a  large  extent  of  the  bush  that  bears  the 
^guava,  from  which  the  famous  jelly  is  made. 
The  fruit  is  about  the  size  of  a  large  plum, 
blended  red  and  yellow,  and  consists  of  a  pulp, 
containing  small  seeds  of  a  sub-acid  flavor.  It 
is  not  much  eaten,  because  the  seeds  occasion 

*Belt,  "The  Naturalist  in  Nicaragua." 
Ill 


severe  attacks  of  indigestion,  though  the  pulp 
is  said  to  be  harmless. 

Our  party  left  America  at  6:30  A.M.  on  Wed- 
nesday, April  8th,  for  a  tramp  through  "Dark- 
est" Nicaragua.  There  were  about  twenty  of  us, 
mostly  New  Yorkers,  and  although  we  could 
have  gone  all  the  way  to  the  lake  by  steamer, 
we  preferred,  for  the  novelty  and  experience  of 
the  thing,  a  march  on  foot  of  forty  miles 
through  the  forest.  Though  we  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  Mr.  Stanley  at  the  start,  in  that  we 
were  able  to  make  the  first  stage  of  our  journey 
by  railroad,  he  had  the  better  of  us  in  the  end, 
as  he  was  able  to  ride  a  mule,  while  we  were 
compelled  to  foot  it.  The  nature  of  the  ground 
is  such  that  no  beast  of  burden  except  man  can 
travel  over  it.  The  surface  is  cut  up  by  nu- 
merous small  streams,  which  have  worn  their 
channels  into  deep  gullies  from  twenty  to  one 
hundred  feet  wide,  with  precipitious  sides.  A 
mule  had  been  secured  for  the  use  of  Senator 
Miller,  who  was  the  heaviest  man  in  the  party, 
but  it  soon  was  made  plain  that  it  would  be 
about  as  easy  for  the  senator  to  carry  the  mule 

as  for  the  mule  to    carry  the  senator,  so  the 

112 


animal  was  left  behind  at  the  end  of  the  rail- 
road. 

The  first  sight  of  a  tropical  forest  fills  the  be- 
holder with  astonishment  and  admiration.  The 
lofty  trees,  their  trunks  for  many  feet  above 
the  ground  hidden  in  dense,  luxuriant  foliage, 
their  tops  concealed  by  festoons  of  trailing 
vines;  the  glowing  patches  of  many-hued  flow- 
ers ;  the  glimpses  of  birds  of  gorgeous  plumage, 
excite  mingled  feelings  of  wonder  and  delight. 
The  most  striking  thing,  however,  is  the  extraor- 
dinary exuberance  of  vegetable  life.  Form 
upon  form,  one  plant  upon  another,  is  the  rule. 
Not  only  is  the  earth  covered  with  vegetation, 
but  the  trees  also.  The  giants  of  the  forest  are 
overloaded  with  parasitical  burdens.  "Numer- 
ous epiphytes— tillandsias,  orchids,  ferns,  and 
a  hundred  others  make  every  big  tree  an  aerial 
garden.  Great  arums  perch  on  the  forks  and 
send  down  roots  like  cords  to  the  ground. 
__Lianas  wind  round  every  trunk  and  hang  from 
every  bough,  passing  from  tree  to  tree,  and  en- 
tangling the  giants  in  a  great  network  of  coil- 
ing cables,  as  the  serpents  did  Laocoon;  the 
simile  being  strengthened  by  the  fact  that 

H  113 


many  of  the  trees  are  really  strangled  in  the 
winding  folds.  Sometimes  a  tree  appears 
covered  with  beautiful  flowers,  which  do  not 
belong  to  it,  but  to  one  of  the  lianas  that  twines 
through  its  branchs  and  sends  down  great  rope- 
like  stems  to  the  ground.  Climbing  ferns  and 
vanilla  cling  to  the  trunks,  and  a  thou- 
sand epiphytes  perch  themselves  on  the 
branches.  Among  these  are  large  arums  that 
send  down  aerial  roots,  tough  and  strong,  and 
universally  used  instead  of  cordage  by  the 
natives. 

"Among  the  undergrowth  several  species  of 
palms,  varying  in  height  from  two  to  fifteen 
feet,  are  common;  and  now  and  then  magnifi- 
cent tree  ferns,  sending  off  their  feathery 
crowns  twenty  feet  from  the  ground,  delight 
the  sight  with  their  graceful  elegance.  Great 
broad-leaved  heliconiae,  leathery  melastomae, 
and  succulent  -  stemmed,  lop  -  sided  leaved 
begonias  are  abundant,  and  typical  of  tropical 
American  forests.  Not  less  so  are  the  cecropia 
trees,  with  their  white  stems  and  large  palmated 
leaves  standing  up  like  great  candelabras. 
Sometimes  the  ground  is  carpeted  with  large 

114 


flowers,  yellow,  pink,  or  white,  that  have  fallen 
from  some  invisible  treetop  above,  or  the  air  is 
filled  with  a  delicious  perfume,  for  the  source 
of  which  one  seeks  around  in  vain,  as  the  flow- 
ers that  cause  it  are  far  overhead  out  of  sight, 
lost  in  the  great  overshadowing  crown  of 

verdure.* 

Another  remarkable  fact  is  that  nearly  every 
great  tree  is  different  from  its  neighbor.  In 
nearly  every  instance  their jfcrunks  rise  to  the 
height  of  more  than  a  hundred  feet  without  a 
limb.  One  tree  of  frequent  occurrence  has 
great  radial,  buttress-like  roots,  extending  out- 
ward fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet  and  merging  in 
the  trunk  about  twenty  feet  above  the 
ground,  so  that  it  would  be  possible  to  build  a 
good-sized  cabin  between  any  two  of  them. 
The  natives  say  this  tree  is  a  species  of  fig,but  I 
could  not  ascertain  that  it  bears  any  edible 
fruit.  Other  large  trees  are  the  mahogany,  a 
species  of  cedar  (Cedrela  odorata),  from  which 
the  natives  hollow  their  canoes  and  "bungoes;" 
the  cortess,  with  a  wood  as  hard  as  ebony;  the 
nispera,  whose  timber  is  almost  indestructible; 


*  Belt. 

lid 


and  another  species  of  wild  fig  (Castilloa 
elastica),  from  which  the  rubber  of  Nicaragua 
is  procured. 

Our  path  followed  the  railroad  clearing  for  a 
mile  from  the  end  of  the  road,  and  then 
plunged  into  the  unbroken  forest.  The  trail,  if 
such  it  could  be  called,  had  been  cut  by  a  sur- 
veying party  and  afterward  used  occasionally 
by  telegraph  linemen,  but  vines  and  weeds  and 
fallen  trees  had  almost  obliterated  it,  and  but 
for  our  guides,  members  of  the  engineering  and 
telegraph  corps,  we  should  have  been  hope- 
lessly lost  at  the  end  of  the  first  three  hundred 
yards.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  guides,  armed 
with  the  machete— a  knife  with  a  broad,  heavy 
blade  three  feet  long — cut  our  path  anew.  The 
unbroken  leafy  canopy  above  completely  shut 
out  the  sun's  rays,  or  admitted  them  in  oc- 
casional shafts,  while  a  tangled  mass  of  under- 
brush, vines,  shrubs  and  small  palms  confined 
the  view  to  a  few  feet  on  all  sides.  The  soggy 
earth  was  broken  by  roots  and  logs  that  tripped 
our  feet  at  every  other  step.  A  young  member 
of  the  party,  who  had  donned  a  white  cotton 
suit  for  the  march,  was  tipped  over  by  one  of 

116 


these  hidden  obstructions  into  a  slough,  from 
which  he  emerged  a  study  in  bronze.  As  we 
were  leaving  America,  a  light  rain,  the  first  of 
the  season,  began  to  fall.  Those  members  of 
the  party  who  had  taken  the  precaution  to  pro- 
vide themselves  against  the  weather,  enveloped 
in  rubber  coats,  sat  upon  the  unprotected  plat- 
form cars  and  complacently  pitied  their  short- 
sighted companions. 

The  rain  continued  to  fall  unceasingly  until 
the  party  had  been  at  least  two  hours  on  the 
march,  but  the  owners  of  the  rubber  coats  had 
not  tramped  half  a  mile  before  they  lost  all 
pride  in  their  property,  were  glad  enough  to 
take  the  coats  off,  and  subsequently  aggrieved 
at  the  necessity  of  carrying  them.  Experience 
soon  convinced  us  that  it  was  useless  to  at- 
tempt any  protection  from  the  rain,  for,  pro- 
tected or  not,  our  clothes  soon  became  wet. 
The  perspiration  flows  so  freely  that  one's 
clothing  is  saturated  at  the  end  of  an  hour's 
tramp  whether  it  rains  or  not.  The  best  ^attire, 
as  we  speedily  discovered,  for  tramping 
through  the  forest,  is  stout  woolen  undercloth- 
ing and  light  overclothing.  Cotton  or  linen 

U9 


underclothing,  when   wet,  becomes   chilling   as 
soon  as  exercise  ceases. 

The  ravines  I  have  mentioned  as  cut  by  the 
numerous  streams,  had  been  in  many  places 
bridged  with  felled  trees  by  the  engineers  who 
first  cut  the  trail,  but  so  rapid,  under  the  com- 
bined influences  of  shade  and  moisture,  is  the 
decay  of  everything  without  life  in  this  deep 
forest,  that  few  of  the  log  bridges  were  capable 
of  sustaining  the  weight  of  a  man,  though 
scarcely  three  years  had  elapsed  since  they 
were  felled.  However,  even  with  dry  shoes 
not  made  slippery  by  mud,  and  with  less  than 
twenty  feet  to  fall,  few  men  are  able  to  walk  a 
log  without  practice,  so  after  some  ludicrous 
attempts  and  narrow  escapes,  the  majority  of 
the  party  preferred  alternate  sliding  down  and 
climbing  up  steep  banks.  But  in  the  tropics 
that  is  exhausting  exercise,  and  many  a  pause 
was  taken  on  the  further  bank  in  consequence. 
Of  course  with  perspiration  so  active,  thirst  is 
incessant,  and  no  drink  devised  by  Yankee 
bartender  was  ever  half  so  refreshing  as  a 
draught  from  one  of  those  cool,  limpid  streams 

after  an  hour's  struggling  through  the  brush. 

120 


A  steady  rain,  though  not  the  characteristic 
down-pour  of  the  tropics,  fell  till  after  nine 
o'clock,  when  the  clouds  broke,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  the  forenoon  there  were  showers 
alternated  with  sunshine.  Nevertheless  there 
was  a  constant  heavy  patter  of  big  drops  from 
the  overhanging  leafy  canopy.  But,  as  we 
afterward  discovered,  for  a  steady  thing,  the 
rain  is  preferable  to  the  sun  on  the  march. 
The  season  was  not  the  best  for  seeing  the  floral 
wealth  of  the  forest,  for  the  bloom  is  not  at  its 
height  until  the  rainy  season  is  somewhat  ad- 
vanced. However,  the  eye  was  frequently  ar- 
rested by  patches  of  purple,  or  scarlet,  or  crim- 
son in  the  underbrush,  while  high  overhead, 
from  the  white  and  leafless  trunks  of  giant 
trees,  orchids  flashed  like  rubies  or  garnets  set 
in  emeralds.  Often  we  walked  over  carpets  of 
flowers,  white,  lilac,  pink,  or  gold,  strewn  by 
invisible  hands.  These  flowers  are  borne  by 
trees  whose  lofty  crowns  overtop  the  leafy 
canopy  and  are,  therefore,  invisible  from  below, 
but  viewed  from  some  commanding  eminence 
present  great  dorries  of  color  amid  the  rolling 

billows  of  green. 

121 


One  of  these  large  flowering  trees  is  the  cor- 
tess,  already  spoken  of.  About  the  end  of 
March,  having  previously  cast  its  leaves,  it  is 
entirely  covered  with  brilliant  yellow  flowers. 
"The  great  yellow  domes  may  be  distinguished 
among  the  dark-green  forest  at  the  distance  of 
five  or  six  miles.  Near  at  hand  they  are  abso- 
lutely dazzling  when  the  sun  is  shining  on 
them." 

The  forest  fairly  teems  with  insect  life. 
Every  plant  supports  a  tribe  and  every  leaf  is  a 
populous  community.  The  shrill  metallic  cry 
of  the  cicada  bursts  from  a  thousand  tiny 
throats  at  the  rustle  of  a  bush  or  the  crack  of  a 
dried  branch.  Large  butterflies  (Morphos), 
with  lustrous,  dark-blue  wings,  dart  about  out 
of  reach  overhead  from  branch  to  branch,  while 
other  species,  black,  red,  yellow,  and  varie- 
gated, fly  around  you  among  the  grass  and 
shrubs.  Marching  columns  of  ants,  bearing 
semi-circular  strips  of  green  leaves,  several 
times  larger  than  their  bodies,  file  across  your 
path.  Great  black  ants  (called  locally  the 
alligator  ant),  more  than  an  inch  in  length, 
whose  bite  is  more  painful  and  serious  than  the 


sting  of  the  wasp,  strut  with  pugnacious  mein 
over  logs  and  fallen  leaves.  -Spiders  of  various 
size,  from  little  ant-like  creatures  to  great  fel- 
lows with  long  bodies  and  longer  legs,  sit 
motionless  behind  their  webs,  or  upon  leaves, 
waiting  patiently  for  unsuspecting  insects. 
Immense  wasps  with  long  black  bodies,  banded 
with  yellow,  move  busily  about  on  foot  or 
wing,  and  enormous  beetles  with  grotesque 
bodies  rush  away  from  overturned  logs  and 
leaves.  Yet  the  comparative  scarcity  of  sting- 
ing jflies  and  mosquitoes  was  surprising.  We 
carried  mosquito  nets  for  use  at  night,  but  ex- 
cept to  keep  out  the  moisture,  with  which  the 
air  of  the  forest  is 'loaded,  they  were  of  little 
service,  as  the  mosquitoes  were  not  at  all 
troublesome.  The  insect  most  dreaded  in  the 
forest  is  the  alligator  ant.  Men  accustomed  to 
the  woods  will  never  put  their  hands  on  a  tree 
or  branch  without  looking  out  for  this  fellow. 
He  is  ever  ready  to  bite,  and  will  continue  to 
bite  until  shaken  off.  It  is  said  that  a  single 
bite  on  the  finger  will  cause  the  arm  to  swell  to 
the  shoulder,  besides  producing  temporary 
partial  paralysis  of  the  limb;  but  happily  none 

123  . 


of  our  party  was  able  to  verify  this  statement 
by  experience. 

Leaving  lizards  and  frogs  out  of  account,  we 
saw  very  few  reptiles.  Of  frogs,  which  were 
plentiful,  two  small  specimens  deserve  men- 
tion. One  of  these,  with  a  bright  red  body  and 
blue  legs,  hops  about  as  if 'he  had  no  enemies, 
and  though  quite  harmless  is  unmolested  by 
nearly  all  birds.  The  other,  with  bright  green 
body  and  irregular  black  stripes,  has  a  very 
harlequin-like  appearance.  Snakes  are  said  to 
be  abundant,  though  we  saw  very  few.  The 
larger  species,  as  the  python  and  the  boa,  are 
not  found  in  Nicaragua.  Three  venomous  vari- 
eties exist,  however,  and  are  greatly  dreaded 
by  the  natives.  These  are  the  toboba,  tomaga 
and  coral  snake.  The  bite  of  the  two  first 
named  is  reputed  to  be  inevitably  fatal,  and  I  was 
told  by  Dr.  Stubbert,  the  chief  surgeon  of  the 
Canal  Company,  that  the  popular  belief  seems 
to  be  well  founded.  A  negro  laborer  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  company,  who  was  bitten  by  a 
toboba,  died  within  three  days,  in  spite  of 
everything  that  could  be  done  for  him.  The 
proximity  of  the  toboba  is  said  to  be  indicated 

1.24 


by  a  peculiar  vanilla-like  odor.  On  the  second 
day  of  the  march  one  of  the  party,  while  climb- 
ing up  the  rocky  side  of  a  steep  hill,  killed  a 
small  one,  which  he  came  very  near  stepping 
upon.  It  was  of  a  light  chocolate  brown  color 
with  paler  angular  stripes,  somewhat  like  those 
on  the  rattlesnake.  In  fact,  though  it  had  no 
rattles,  it  looked  as  if  it  belonged  to  the  same 
family. 

The  distance  from  the  end  of  the  railroad  to 
Camp  Menocal,  our  first  resting  place,  was  said 
to  be  only  eight  miles,  but  it  seemed  to  us  at 
least  twice  as  far.  The  party  was,  of  course, 
speedily  broken  up  into  groups,  which  in  the 
end  became  widely  separated.  The  leaders 
reached  the  camp  about  11:30,  but  the 
rear  guard,  including  Senator  Miller,  did  not 
come  in  until  one  o'clock.  Mr.  Miller  came  up 
coatless,hatless,  and  perspiring,  yet  looking  far 
from  exhausted.  He  remarked  that  he  had 
learned  something  about  tramping  in  the  Adi- 
rondacks.  Major  Button,  of  the  United  States 
Army,  who,  next  to  the  senator,  was  the  heav- 
iest man  in  the  party,  arrived  somewhat  earlier, 
showing  much  more  evident  signs  of  distress. 

125 


Still  all  arrived  blown,  dripping  with  perspira- 
tion, thirsty,  and  desperately  hungry.  It  is  the 
custom  of  the  country  to  rise  between  five  and 
seven,  take  a  cup  of  strong  coffee  and  a  cracker, 
and  eat  a  substantial  breakfasb  at  noon.  Hav- 
ing already  conformed  to  the  custom,  we  had 
left  America  after  coffee,  with  the  promise  of 
breakfast  at  Camp  Menocal.  We  were  ready 
for  it  when  we  reached  there.  Provisions  and 
cooks  had  been  sent  ahead,  and  the  breakfast 
was  also  ready  for  us.  It  was  a  right  good 
breakfast,  too. 

The  provisions,  like  our  bedding  and  changes 
of  clothing,  done  up  in  rubber  blankets,  were 
borne  in  packs  by  native  carriers.  These  men, 
nearly  all  of  small  stature,  are  of  mixed  Indian 
and  Spanish  descent,  the  Indian  predominating 
in  them.  They  are  generally  young,  and  the 
most  patient  and  enduring  beasts  of  burden,  by 
all  odds,  I  have  ever  seen.  Each  carries  a 
machete  to  cut  his  way  through  the  forest,  and 
when  his  day's  journey  is  ended,  it  becomes 
the  ax  for  procuring  firewood  and  building  tem- 
porary shelter.  It  is  also  a  terrible  weapon, 
but  the  carriers  are  said  to  be  remarkably 

126 


I  T 

0  I 

•o  O 

1  I 

O  X 


pacific.  Unless  made  desperate,  they  strike 
with  the  flat  side  of  the  blade,  thus  inflicting  a 
stinging  but  harmless  blow.  I  have  elsewhere 
referred  to  their  reputation  for  honesty.  They 
are  certainly  very  polite  and  obliging,  and  will 
work  cheerfully  for  very  small  compensation, 
about  ninety  cents  per  day. 

Camp  Menocal  is  situated  upon  the  crest  of  a 
high  hill  in  a  clearing  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Deseado.  The  clearing  was  made  by  the  Canal 
Company,  about  two  years  before  our  visit,  for 
a  banana  plantation,  and  it  was  covered  by  well- 
grown  banana  trees,  which  were,  however, 
badly  choked  up  by  grasses  and  weeds.  The 
camp,  built  after  the  manner  of  the  native 
forest  houses,  is  a  collection  of  sheds  or  shacks, 
consisting  of  an  open  framework  with  hipped 
roof  thatched  with  palm  leaves.  The  floor, 
raised  about  two  feet  from  the  ground,  is  made 
of  small  logs  split  in  half,  the  rounded  side 
turned  up.  Kude  cots,  made  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  floor,  and  raised  about  two  feet  above 
it,  are  ranged  on  either  side  of  the  hut  for 
sleeping  accommodations.  The  cots  are  made 
tolerable  by  a  covering  of  palm  leaves.  The 

I  129 


cots,  as  well  as  the  floor,  are  raised  as  a  protec- 
tion against  insects  and  reptiles. 

In  the  clearing  at  Camp  Menocal  several  very 
tall  trees  had  been  left  standing.  These  stood 
apart  from  each  other,  had  smooth  bark,  were 
unincumbered  by  vines,  and  from  their  lofty 
branches  were  suspended  numerous  bottle-like 
nests  of  a  species  of  oriole.  These  birds  choose 
high,  isolated,  smooth-barked  trees  for  their 
nests,  so  that  monkeys  cannot  descend  on  them 
from  the  tops  of  neighboring  trees,  and  any 
predatory  animal  attempting  to  ascend  the  trunk 
will  be  exposed  to  their  combined  attack. 
Armed  with  strong  sharp-pointed  beaks,  they 
are  able  to  secure  comparative  immunity  from 
disturbance.  Late  in  the  evening  and  early  in 
the  morning  the  forest  resounds  with  chirp  and 
song,  but  on  the  march  we  did  not  see  a  great 
many  birds.  The  chief  reason  is  the  density  of 
the  foliage,  in  which  the  more  timid  and  de- 
fenseless members  of  the  feathery  family  find  se- 
cure hiding  place  at  the  first  unusual  sound. 
Again,  the  plumgge  of  many  birds,  as  the  smaller 
parrots  and  parroquets,  is  so  nearly  like  the  foli- 
age of  the  trees  they  frequent  that  it  is  extremely 

130 


difficult  to  distinguish  them.  But  there  are 
some  birds  that  disdain  concealment.  At  the 
head  of  these  stands  the  macaw,  which  by  its 
harsh  and  repeated  cries,  is  perpetually  inviting 
attention  to  itself,  while  its  gorgeous  coloring  of 
red,  blue,  green  and  yellow,  quickly  catches 
the  eye.  But  "its  formidable  beak  protects  it 
from  every  danger,  for  no  hawk  or  predatory 
mammal  dares  attack  a  bird  so  strongly 
armed."  The  larger  parrots  are  also  noisy  and 
conspicuous,  but  they  go  in.  flocks,  while  the, 
macaws  go  in  pairs. 

Another  bird  that  attracts  attention  by  its 
cries  and  coloring,  is  the  toucan,  or  banana  bird, 
which  at  first  sight  seems  to  be  all  bill.  The 
bill  is  about  six  inches  long,  very  stout  at  the 
base,  and  usually  a  brilliant  red  or  yellow. 
One  of  the  largest  species  (Rhamphastus  tocard] 
is  twenty-three  inches  long,  the  bill  and  tail 
constituting,  each,  one-fourth  of  the  whole. 
The  plumage  is  generally  black,  except  the 
breast,  which  is  clear  lemon  yellow  bordered 
with  red,  tail-coverts  white,  and  a  band  of  red 
under  the  tail-coverts.  Two  or  three  different 
kinds  of  woodpeckers,  among  them  the  red- 

131 


crested,  and  several  varieties  of  fly-catchers, 
some  of  them  very  beautiful,  were  the  only 
other  birds  we  frequently  saw.  However,  tro- 
gons,  tanagers,  creepers,  humming-birds,  and 
other  species  are  abundant.  Mr.  Belt  noticed 
thirteen  different  kinds  of  humming-birds  in 
the  vicinity  of  Santo  Domingo,  in  Chontales,  and 
though  they  are  seldom  seen,  he  came  to  the  con- 
clusion, after  learning  their  voices,  that  they 
equaled,  if  they  did  not  exceed,  in  number  all 
the  other  birds  put  together.  One  evening, 
about  sunset,  while  descending  the  San  Fran- 
cisco in  a  canoe,  I  heard  in  the  thickets  on  the 
banks  the  whistle  of  the  "toledo"  (Chirosciphia 
lineata),  "so-called  because  its  note  resembles 
those  syllables,  clearly  and  slowly  whistled, 
with  the  emphasis  on  the  last  two."  Tt  "is 
about  the  size  of  a  linnet,  of  a  general  velvety 
black  color.  The  crown  of  the  head  is  covered 
with  a  flat  scarlet  crest,  and  the  back  with 
what  looks  like  a  shawl  of  sky  blue.  From  the 
tail  spring  two  long  ribbon-like  feathers."  An- 
other beautiful  bird  of  which  there  are  several 
species,  is  the  trogon.  The  largest  (Trogon 
massena),  "is  one  foot  in  length,  dark  bronze 

132 


^green  above,  with  the  smaller  wing  feathers 
speckled  white  and  black,  and  the  belly  of  a 
beautiful  carmine."  To  this  family  belongs 
the  "quesal"  or  royal  bird  of  the  Aztecs  (Tro- 
(jo)i  resplendens),  which,  it  is  said,  is  sometimes 
still  found  in  the  forests  of  Segovia. 

Without  waiting  at  Camp  Menocal  for  a 
siesta,  which  is  an  indispensable  daily  incident 
of  the  Spanish- American's  life,  we  pushed  on  to 
Camp  Miller,  five  miles  further,  where  we  had 
supper  and  remained  for  the  night.  Before  sup- 
per, however,  we  had  a  refreshing  dip  in  the 
cool  water  of  the  Deseado,  and  exchanged  our 
wet  for  dry  clothing.  The  forest  air  became 
damp  and  cool  after  nightfall,  and  we  found  our 
blankets  a  very  essential  part  of  the  outfit. 
The  log  cots  I  have  spoken  of  did  not  prove  the 
most  comfortable  of  beds,  and  some  of  the 
party  complained  next  morning,  in  conse- 
quence, of  feeling  stiff  and  sore.  But,  other- 
wise, nobody  was  the  worse  for  the  tramp,  and 
an  early  niorning  dip  in  the  stream  braced  even 
the  aching  ones.  Soon  after  daylight  a  mem- 
ber of  the  engineering  corps  went  off  with  sev- 
eral natives,  and  returned  in  about  an  hour  with 

133 


a  great  quantity  of  fine  fish,  captured  by  ex- 
ploding a  small  charge  of  dynamite  in  one  of 
the  deep  holes  of  the  Deseado.  One  species, 
the  juapoti  (pronounced  wah-po-ti),  averaging 
about  three  pounds,  is,  as  we  discovered  at 
breakfast,  particularly  savory.  We  did  not 
leave  camp  before  nine  o'clock,  and  we  had  a 
hearty  breakfast  before  starting,  because  we 
were  to  climb  the  divide,  and  there  was  to  be  no 
stopping  place  short  of  Camp  Alice,  fifteen 
miles  distant,  where  we  were  to  spend  the 
second  night.  As  we  were  leaving  Camp  Miller, 
we  made  our  first  acquaintance  with  the^saw- 
grass,  which  grew  in  great  luxuriance  for  some 
distance  along  the  trail.  It  is  a  most  atrocious 
plant.  The  serrated  edges  of  its  long,  slender, 
leaves  cut  deep  into  the  flesh  at  every  touch. 
After  an  excessively  tedious  tramp,  in  which 
we  climbed  a  succession  of  steep  hills,  one  a 
precipitous  cliff  over  three  hundred  feet  high, 
the  main  body  of  the  party  reached  Camp  Alice 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  We 
missed  the  Deseado  sadly,  for  here  there  was 
only  a  little  brook,  which  furnished  very  poor 
facilities  for  bathing. 

134 


We  had  heard  of  the  "milk"  tree,  and  here 
we  found  several  standing  close  "at  hand.  They 
were  thirty  to  forty  feet  high,  with  leathery, 
dark-green  leaves  and  trunks  a  foot  in  diam- 
eter at  the  base,  covered  with  a  whitish, 
slightly  rough  bark.  The  milk,  which  flows 
very  freely  from  an  incision  of  the  bark,  is  pure 
white,  and  has  a  rich,  creamy,  and  altogether 
pleasant  taste.  It  is  not  drunk,  however,  as  it 
is  said  to  produce  obstinate  constipation.  It  is 
apparently  a  species  of  fig,  and  closely  allied  to 
that  from  which  the  rubber  of  Nicaragua  is  pro- 
cured. The  last  day's  tramp  took  us  over  a 
succession  of  hills,  toilsome  enough,  if  not  so 
high  and  steep  as  those  crossed  the  preceding 
day,  and  along  the  crest  of  a  steep  ridge  be- 
tween the  valleys  of  the  Limpio  and  Chanchos, 
where  the  trees  had  been  cleared  away  for  the 
telegraph  line,  and  where,  besides  being  ex- 
posed to  the  full  force  of  the  sun,  we  did  not 
find  a  drop  of  water  for  fully  six  miles.  Con- 
sequently we  suffered  greatly  from  thirst.  If 
we  had  been  better  acquainted  with  the  forest, 
however,  we  would  not  have  suffered  at  all. 
Three  of  us  with  parched  mouths  and  well- 


nigh  exhausted,  sat  down  to  rest  about  a  mile 
from  Camp  Salinas,  the  end  of  the  tramp.  A 
group  of  the  big  black  congo  monkeys  (Mycetes 
palliatus),  which  was  hiding  in  a  great  tree 
close  by,  scampered  off  as  soon  as  we  came  to 
a  stand.  They  were  the  first  we  had  seen,  and 
their  wonderful  agility  in  leaping  from  tree  to 
tree  made  us  forget  our  thirst  for  a  moment. 
This  species  of  monkey  is  not  molested  by  the 
natives,  except  that  they  are  sometimes  shot 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  young,  but  the 
brown  fruit-eating  spider  monkey  (Ateles), 
plentiful  in  the  interior,  is  much  esteemed  as  an 
article  of  food.  The  congo  monkey  roars  like  a 
lion  and  makes  night  hideous  in  the  forest. 

After  we  had  been  resting  some  time,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  engineering  corps,  armed  with  a 
machete,  overtook  us,  and,  on  learning  our 
plight,  gave  us  speedy  relief  by  cutting  a  water 
vine  that  stood  not  thirty  feet  away.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  useful  plants  found  in  the  for- 
est, for,  as  was  aptly  illustrated  to  us,  it  often 
grows  where  no  water  can  be  found.  It  is  one 
of  the  largest  of  the  lianas.  To  secure  the 
water,  it  must  be  cut  first  as  high  up  as  you  can 

136 


reach  and  afterward  close  to  the  ground,  for  if 
it  be  severed  first  near  the  root,  the  sap  will 
ascend  so  rapidly  that  scarcely  any  will  be  pro- 
cured. A  section  about  seven  feet  long  will 
yield  a  pint  of  sweet,  cool  water.  I  certainly 
never  relished  a  drink  of  water  more  than  the 
one  I  had  from  this  vine.  While  we  were 
drinking  several  other  members  of  the  party 
came  up  equally  anxious  for  a  drink,  and  with 
heads  throw  back  and  hands  raised  in  support 
of  long  sections  of  vine  balanced  vertically  over 
our  mouths,  we  formed  an  odd-looking  group. 
We  had  taken  only  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a 
cracker  before  leaving  Camp  Alice,  as  we  ex- 
pected to  breakfast  at  Camp  Carmen,  about 
halfway  to  Camp  Salinas.  But  Camp  Carmen 
was  on  a  by-trail,  and  the  provision  bearers, 
who  set  out  in  advance  of  the  party,  missed  it 
and  kept  straight  on  to  Camp  Salinas,  and 
those  of  us  who  were  in  the  van  followed  the 
provisions.  The  remainder  of  the  party  went 
to  Camp  Carmen,  but  finding  it  tenantless,  were 
forced  to  resume  the  tramp,  hungry  and  disap- 
pointed. A  fifteen-mile  tramp  over  hills,  under 
the  burning  sun  of  the  tropics,  without  any- 

139 


thing  more  substantial  than  a  cup  of  coffee  and 
a  cracker,  is  an  experience  that  one  does  not 
care  to  repeat. 

Camp  Salinas  is  on  the  Chanchos,  a  consider- 
able stream  that  empties  a  few  miles  below  into 
the  San  Francisco,  an  important  tributary  of 
the  San  Juan.  Chanchos  is  one  of  the  names  of 
the  wild  hog,  or  wari,  of  Nicaragua,  an  object 
of  keen  pursuit  by  sportsmen.  Several  of  our 
party,  who  carried  rifles  or  shotguns,  were 
constantly  on  the  lookout  for  it,  but  although 
we  saw  plenty  of  signs,  and  once  heard  some  of 
them  striking  their  teeth  together,  we  did  not 
get  a  glimpse  of  the  animal.  In  another  chap- 
ter I  will  speak  at  length  of  the  game  of  Nicara- 
gua, but  I  may  mention  here  that  we  did  not 
see  any  on  the  tramp.  Undoubtedly  our  party 
was  so  large  that  the  noise  of  its  approach  gave 
the  game  ample  warning  to  seek  cover. 

At  Camp  Salinas  we  were  to  meet  canoes  to 
convey  us  down  the  Chanchos  and  San  Fran- 
cisco rivers  to  the  steamer  Irma,  which  was  to 
await  our  arrival  at  the  mouth  of  the  latter. 
We  were,  however,  ahead  of  the  canoes,  which 
did  not  come  up  until  four  o'clock,  fully  an  hour 

140 


after  the  last  of  the  party  had  reached  camp. 
These  canoes  are  of  steel,  built  for  the  Canal 
Company  after  the  Indian  model,  and  their 
strength  and  carrying  capacity  are  wonderful. 
The  San  Francisco,  where  we  traveled  it,  is  a 
deep  stream  about  a  hundred  feet  wide,  but  both 
it  and  the  Chanchos  are  badly  obstructed  by  logs. 
With  thirteeli  men  and  a  cartload  of  baggage-in 
each  canoe  we  made  our  way  down  these 
streams,  which  did  not  seem  navigable  for  an 
empty  skiff.  The  canoes  were  handled  by  na- 
tives, who  used  only  the  paddle.  Wherever  there 
was  clear  water  sufficient,  by  vigorous  plying  of 
the  paddles,  they  would  give  the  canoe  a  spurt 
and  send  it,  loaded  as  it  was,  over  logs  within  six 
inches  of  the  water's  surface.  In  some  places, 
however,  the  logs  were  several  inches  out  of 
water,  and  there  after  the  passengers  had  de- 
barked upon  the  log,  the  natives  lifted  the 
canoe  deftly  over  it.  The  sun  was  setting 
when  we  reached  the  San  Francisco,  and 
through  rifts  in  the  forest,  flooded  with  rosy 
light  in  places  the  dense  mass  of  bright  green 
foliage  on  the  banks.  Between  these  glowing 
spots  heavy  shadows  lay.  Kingfishers  darted 

141 


from  perch  to  perch  over  the  darkening  water; 
unseen  birds  twittered  and  chirped  among  the 
overhanging  vines;  and  the  clear,  sweet  whistle 
of  the  toledo  resounded  through  the  silence  of 
the  forest. 

We  reached  the  mouth  of  the  San  Francisco 
about  eight  o'clock,  and  found  the  Irma  tied  up 
to  the  bank  waiting  for  us.  Waiting  for  us  also 
was  an  excellent  supper,  which,  after  the 
fatigue  of  the  day,  it  is  needless  to  say  we  en- 
joyed. An  adjunct  not  less  enjoyed  was  ice, 
which  is  the  luxury  of  luxuries  in  the  tropics. 
The  Irma,  like  all  the  other  steamers  on  the. 
San  Juan,  is  a  flat-bottom  stern-wheeler,  built 
after  the  pattern  of  the  boats  on  our  Western 
rivers.  These  steamers  are  owned  and  run  by 
the  canal  company. 

The  Irma  lay  at  the  bank  until  after  daylight 
next  morning.  In  fact,  on  our  journey  to  the 
lake  we  traveled  only  by  day,  so  that  we  saw 
the  whole  river.  The  San  Juan  is  a  noble 
stream,  generally  speaking,  about  300  yards 
broad,  except  at  the  rapids,  deep,  and  with  a 
swift  current.  Along  the  greater  part  of  its 
course  the  banks  are  low  and  level  and  covered 

142 


with  the  characteristic  vegetation  of  the  forest. 
In  a  few  places,  however,  it  is  overlooked  by 
steep  hills,  and  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  San 
Carlos  it  flows  between  mountains  of  consider- 
able height.  There  are  only  three  settlements 
and  a  few  banana  plantations  between  the 
ocean  and  the  lake. 

At  one  of  these  plantations,  on  the  southern 
bank  about  two  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
San  Francisco,  we  made  a  brief  stop  for  a  beef, 
which  was  killed  and  butchered  on  board. 
Some  of  the  party  went  ashore  and  picked  ripe 
bananas  from  the  trees.  They  also  got  a  few 
ripe  watermelons  and  muskmelons.  The  place 
was  owned  by  an  enterprising  Portuguese,  who 
furnished  wood  for  the  steamers  at  a  landing 
some  miles  further  up.  Late  in  the  afternoon 
we  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  San  Carlos,  but 
just  before  reaching  it  we  had  a  startling 
incident. 

On  the  southern  side  of  the  river  there  is  a 
cluster  of  huts  occupied  by  negroes  and  half- 
breeds,  and  from  that,  at  our  approach,  a  canoe, 
containing  three  men  put  off.  One  of  the  men 
in  the  canoe  was  a  river  pilot  and  as  it  neared 

143 


the  steamer  the  engines  were  stopped.  The 
vessel,  however,  retained  considerable  head- 
way, and  the  canoe  instead  of  coming  along- 
side of  a  lighter  moored  beside  her,  attempted 
to  cross  its  bow,  was  struck  and  overturned. 
Two  of  the  men  were  seized  by  deck  hands  and 
pulled  on  board,  but  the  third  man  went  with 
the  canoe  under  the  lighter.  He,  however, 
reappeared  upon  the  surface  some  distance 
astern  and  began  to  swim  bravely  for  the  shore. 
But  the  swift  current  carried  him  rapidly  down- 
stream, and  it  soon  became  evident  that  his 
strength  was  failing  fast.  Some  men  on  shore 
were  making  frantic  but  ineffectual  efforts  to 
launch  a  canoe,  so  it  was  plain  the  man  would 
drown  if  it  rested  with  them  to  save  him. 
Happily  other  means  of  rescue  were  at  hand. 
One  of  the  steel  canoes  before  mentioned  sud- 
denly shot  out  from  the  side  of  the  steamer  to 
which  our  backs  were  turned,  'and  glided 
rapidly  down  the  river.  Even  then  the  man's 
fate  hung  in  doubt,  for  he  was  fully  half  a  mile 
away  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  must  go  down  be- 
fore the  canoe  could  reach  him.  But  he  was 
saved.  Strong  arms  grabbed  him  just  as  he  was 

144 


about  to  sink.  His  rescue  was  due  to  Mr 
Chable,  a  young  gentleman  from  Texas,  who 
represented  the  canal  company  in  Costa  Rica; 
Hurrying  from  the  saloon  deck  after  the  acci- 
dent he  made  boatmen  launch  and  man  the 
canoe. 

Immediately  above  the  San  Carlos,  the  San 
Juan  is  divided  by  a  large  island,  and  just  be- 
yond that  the  river  seems  to  flow  out  of  a 
cavern  at  the  base  of  a  mountain  fully  2,000  feet 
high.  However,  the  river  only  makes  a  sharp 
bend  and  washes  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  A 
few  white  cranes  and  a  beautiful  species  of 
snipe,  called  the  "spur-wing,"  which  has  a 
most  graceful  way  of  holding  its  wings  spread 
a  second  after  lighting,  were  almost  the  only 
birds  we  saw  along  the  river.  Upon  the  sand 
bars  along  the  margin,  however,  were  millions 
of  yellow  butterflies.  They  covered  the  bars 
completely,  and  in  the  distance  seemed  like 
great  patches  of  cloth  of  gold.  I  could  not 
make  out  wh'at  they  were  doing  there  unless 
they  were  drinking  water. 

Early  on  Sunday  morning  we  arrived  at  the 
Machuca  Rapids,  so  called  from  Captain  Diego 

K  145 


Machuca,  who  about  1539  built  a  vessel  near 
Granada,-  explored  the  lake,  discovered  the  San 
Juan,  and  followed  it  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
The  rapids  are  impassable  for  steamers,  so  we 
left  the  Irma  at  the  foot  of  them.  They  are 
between  two  and  three  miles  long,  and  along 
the  northern  bank  of  the  river  is  a  road,  which 
in  the  days  of  the  transit  company,  was  cut  for 
transferring  passengers  and  fast  freight.  Some 
of  our  party  walked  up  by  this  road,  but  the 
majority  went  up  in  lighters  pulled  by  natives. 
Above  the  rapids  we  took  a  smaller  steamer, 
the  Adele,  which  carried  us  to  Castillo  early 
the  same  afternoon.  Here  again  high  hills  with 
declivitous  sides  overtop  the  banks  of  the  river. 
Here  also  the  river  makes  a  sharp  descent,  more 
like  a  fall  than  a  rapid.  Upon  the  crown  of  a 
lofty  hill  on  the  southern  bank  stands  the  old 
Spanish  fort  San  Juan,  built  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  Subsequent  gener- 
ations called  it  Castillo  Viejo,  "old  castle,"  but 
now  it  is  contracted  to  Castillo  and  gives  its 
name  to  the  little  village  beneath  it,  It  is  an 
angular  structure  of  stone,  of  considerable 
dimensions,  and  surmounted  at  one  of  the 

146 


angles  by  a  beehive-like  tower  of  observation. 
At  the  time  of  Squier's  visit,  in  1849,  both  the 
hill  and  fort  were  overgrown  with  trees,  but 
now  the  walls  are  whitewashed  and  the  sides  of 
the  hill  are  covered  with  sward.  The  opposite 
hills  are  also  cleared  of  timber,  and  appear  to 
be  used  for  pasture.  A  small  garrison  is 
maintained  in  the  fort,  which  is  also  a  place  of 
confinement  for  political  prisoners  and  crimi- 
nals. A  salute  was  fired  from  the  fort  at  our 
approach.  The  English,  under  the  great  Nelson, 
captured  this  fort,  after  a  stubborn  resistance, 
in  1780.  He  reduced  it  by  taking  possession  of 
a  commanding  hill  in  the  rear. 

The  village  is  built  upon  a  narrow  shelf  be- 
tween the  foot  of  the  hill  and  the  river.  It  is  a 
collection  of  wretched  wooden  shanties,  the 
only  decent  buildings  being  the  storehouses 
and  offices  of  the  steamboat  company.  There 
is  only  one  street,  running  through  which  is  a 
tramway,  used  for  transferring  freight  above  the 
rapids.  The  custom  house  01  Nicaragua  for 
the  San  Juan  Kiver  is  located  here,  and  the 
officials  showed  a  very  evident  disposition  to 
collect  duty  on  our  supplies,  but  by  an  exces- 

149 


sive  expenditure  of  Spanish  were  persuaded  to 
desist.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  village  we 
found  a  little  steamer,  the  Norma,  to  take  us  up 
the  Toro  Kapids,  which  are  about  fifteen  miles 
long.  It  was  so  small  that  it  could  not  carry 
more  than  half  of  the  party,  so  some  of  us  had 
to  remain  over  night  at  Castillo.  We  found  very 
good  accommodations,  however,  in  the  com- 
pany's buildings. 

At  Castillo  the  village  priest,  a  fat,  unctuous, 
and,  as  we  soon  discovered,  exceedingly  greedy 
mulatto,  made  himself,  uninvited,  a  member  .of 
our  party.  The  village  fop  attempted  to  do 
likewise,  but  was  prevented  by  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  steamer,  whereat  he  assumed  the 
air  of  an  injured  grandee.  The  Toro  Rapids 
extend  from  Castillo  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sa- 
vallo  River,  about  fifteen  miles.  The  channel 
is  very  tortuous  and  the  current  in  places  so 
strong  that  the  little  Norma  could  scarcely 
make  way  against  it.  In  these  rapids  we  saw 
thousands  of  tarpon,  the  savalo-real  of  the 
natives.  This  fish  has  a  way  of  rising  to  the 
surface  and  showing  its  dorsal  fin  after  the 
manner  of  the  porpoise.  They  are  so  abundant 

150 


that  they  frequently  jump  into  the  Norma,  and 
a  short  time  before  our  visit  five  were  thus  cap- 
tured on  one  trip.  They  were  all  between  five 
and  six  feet  in  length.  Here  also  we  saw  an 
immense  alligator,  whose  head  alone  was  more 
than  five  feet  long.  When  first  noticed  he  had 
his  head  in  a  shallow  place  between  two  rocks, 
and  his  upper  jaw  raised  at  right  angles  to  the 
lower  jaw,  so  that  it  looked  like  a  gnarled  snag. 
The  river  men  said  that  was  his  manner  of  fish- 
ing. Alligators  are  said  to  be  very  abundant 
in  the  river,  but  that  was  the  first  and  only 
large  one  we  saw.  The  snout  is  more  pointed 
and  otherwise  differently  shaped  from  that  of 
the  alligator  found  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Savallo  is  a  small  river  whose  sources 
are  in  the  Chontales  Mountains,  at  a  consider- 
able distance  from  the  San  Juan,  A  short  dis- 
tance above  its  mouth  there  is  a  hot  spring,  the 
water  of  which  is  believed  to  possess  excellent 
medicinal  properties.  About  the  sources  of 
this  river,  which  are  difficult  of  access,  gold  in 
considerable  quantities  was  said  to  have  been 
discovered  a  short  time  before  our  arrival.  The 

151 


largest  of  the  river  steamers,  the  Managua, 
plies  between  the  Savallo  and  San  Carlos  on 
the  lake  at  the  head  of  the  San  Juan,  and  makes 
the  trip  in  less  than  six  hours.  The  distance  is 
about  thirty  miles.  Above  the  Savallo  the  San 
Juan  is  broad  and  deep  and  its  current  compara- 
tively slow.  The  banks  are  low  and  frequently 
broken  by  lagoons.  A  palm^  with  great  coarse 
leaves  twenty  feet  in  length,  abundant  in  the 
delta,  makes  its  reappearance  here. 

We  reached  San  Carlos  about  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  in  time  to  see  the  sun  set  on  the 
lake,  but  of  that  hereafter.  The  village, 
named  from  the  old  Spanish  fort  that  looks 
down  on  it,  is  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river, 
upon  rolling  ground,  which  terminates  at  the 
angle  between  the  river  and  the  lake  in  a  high 
hill,  upon  whose  crest  stands  the  old  fort. 
There  is  another  high  hill  behind  the  town,  so 
that  altogether  the  situation  is  a  striking  one. 
The  village  is  a  heterogeneous  collection  of 
adobe  structures,  wooden  buildings,  lop-sided 
shanties  and  thatched  huts.  It  contains  sev- 
eral hundred  inhabitants,  and  numerous  goats. 
Half  of  the  population  was  assembled  about  the 

152 


wharf-house  to  witness  our  arrival,  which  had 
been  heralded  by  a  salute  of  several  guns  from 
the  fort.  General  Gutierres,  the  commandant 
of  the  post,  came  down  to  meet  us,  and  invite 
us  to  inspect  the  fort.  We  accepted  the  invita- 
tion in  a  body,  and  he  put  his  little  garrison  of 
twenty  men  through  a  dress  parade  for  our 
benefit.  Afterward  he  gave  us  some  very  good 
brandy.  A  fort  which  stood  upon  this  site  was 
captured  by  the  English  in  1665,  and  subse- 
quently retaken  by  the  Spaniards.  Whether  it 
was  the  existing  fort,  which  undoubtedly  is 
very  old,  is  uncertain. 


SAN    CARLOS— LAKE    NICARAGUA 
At  the  head  of  the  San  Juan  River 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    GKEAT  LAKE. 

FKOM  the  ramparts  of  the  old  fort  we  saw  the 
sun  set  on  the  great  lake.  In  the  glowing 
light  of  the  evening  it  seemed  like  a  sea  of  gold, 
studded  with  emerald  isles.  To  the  southwest, 
the  forest-covered  shore  line  receded  to  a  mere 
thread,  that  vanished  under  the  cloud-capped 
mountains  of  Costa  Rica.  Beneath  the  setting 
sun,  with  the  golden  water  beyond  as  well  as 
in  front  of  them,  were  the  verdant  archipela- 
goes of  Chichicaste  and  Solentiname.  The  twin 
mountains  of  the  lake— the  lofty,  conical  Ome- 
tepec  and  his  shorter,  dome-shaped  brother, 
Medeira,  in  the  northwest,  alone  interrupted 
the  endless  expanse  of  water,  while  the 
rugged,  undulating  eastern  shore,  its  densely 
wooded  headlands  and  hollows  abounding  in 
contrasts  of  light  and  shade,  was  lost  in  the  dis< 
tance  below  a  range  of  peaks  just  showing 

154 


above  the  northern  horizon.  It  has  been  well 
said:  "The  lake  is  too  large  to  be  called  beau- 
tiful, and  its  vast  extent  and  the  mere  glimpses 
of  its  limits  and  cloud-capped  peaks  appeal  to 
the  imagination  rather  than  to  the  eye."  Had 
we  not  known  better,  we  might  easily  have  be- 
lieved that  we  were  gazing  on  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  most  prominent  landmarks  in  sight  were 
the  twin  peaks  in  the  northwest  and  three  more 
distant  but  equally  lofty  peaks  in  the  south- 
west. These  last  are  the  volcanoes  Miravaya, 
Eincon  de  la  Vieja,  and  Orosi,  in  Costa  Eica. 
The  clouds,  which  bridge-like  spanned  their 
summits  as  well  as  those  of  Ometepec  and 
Medeira,  all  purple  and  gold,  became  somber 
and  black  as  the  light  went  out  of  them.  The 
natives,  who  are  full  of  poetic  fancies,  call  these 
clouds  "the  night  cap."  The  clouds  are  still 
there  in  the  morning,  but  all  fleecy,  and  may 
then  be  called  the  white  cap.  Orosi,  which  is 
the  northernmost  of  the  Costa  Eican  peaks,  was 
in  active  eruption  in  1844,  when  it  gave  rise  to 
earthquake  shocks,  felt  with  considerable  force 
as  far  north  as  Eivas;  but  it  is  quiet  now. 
Ometepec  and  Medeira  stand  in  the  lake  about 

155 


twenty  miles  from  its  western  shore.  "Omete- 
pec," says  Mr.  Belt,  "is  almost  pure  Aztec  for 
two  peaks,  but  the  island  itself  only  contains 
one,  and  the  name  was  probably  given  by  an  in- 
vader who  saw  the  two  peaks  of  Ometepec  and 
Medeira  from  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  thought 
they  belonged  to  one  island."  Mr.  Belt,  how- 
ever, was  wrong  and  the  invader  right,  for  the 
peaks  really  occupy  one  island.  Although 
there  is  a  strip  of  low  land  between  them,  it  is 
seldom,  if  ever,  covered  by  water.  The  island 
is  about  eighteen  miles  long  by  six  wide,  and  is 
rather  densely  peopled,  containing  from  8,000 
to  10,000  inhabitants.  Medeira  is  wooded  to  its 
summit  and  Ometepec  nearly  so.  On  their 
slopes  are  numerous  villages  and  coffee  and 
cocoa  plantations.  Ometepec,  the  more  north- 
ern of  the  two  peaks,  is  5,320  feet,  or  a  little 
more  than  one  mile  high.  Medeira-  is  about  a 
thousand  feet  shorter.  Ometepec  alone  has 
been  active  in  historic  times.  Until  1885  it  was 
supposed  to  be  a  dead  volcano.  Then  it  woke 
from  its  rest  of  ages,  and  also  roused  the  people 
of  the  surrounding  country,  especially  the  in- 
habitants of  the  island  and  those  of  Rivas, 

156 


which  stands  near  the  western  shore  of  the  lake 
a  little  to  the  southward  of  the  volcano.  A 
considerable  stream  of  lava  flowed  down  the 
western  side  of  the  mountain,  and  destroyed 
many  plantations  and  houses ;  but  no  lives  were 
lost,  as  the  people  had  time  to  flee  from  their 
homes.  Earthquake  shocks  of  considerable 
violence  and  several  weeks'  duration  alarmed 
the  people  of  Granada  and  Rivas,  and  there  was 
a  great  upheaval  of  ashes,  which  covered  many 
plantations  on  the  island  that  the  lava  did  not 
reach,  and  carried  by  the  prevailing  wind  over  to 
the  mainland,  injured  many  others  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Rivas.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  ulti- 
mate effect  of  the  ash  deposit  on  the  mainland 
was  to  increase  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  After 
some  months  of  activity  Ometepec  lapsed  into 
rest  again  and  remained  quiet  until  a  few  days 
before  our  visit,  when  it  began  to  rumble  and 
smoke  a  second  time.  As  we  passed  it  on  our 
way  up  the  lake  a  few  thin  jets  of  white  smoke 
rose  lazily  from  the  apex  and  formed  tufts  and 
wreaths  above.  There  was,  however,  no  seri- 
ous disturbance  or  active  eruption. 
The  regularity  of  the  trade  wind,  which  is  at 

157 


its  strongest  in  the  afternoon,  heaps  the  water 
of  the  lake  up  on  the  western  shore,  and  causes 
a  diurnal  tide-like  movement  that  was  long 
mistaken  for  an  actual  tide.  The  same  force 
also  produces  a  heavy  surf  along  the  western 
shore,  while  on  the  eastern  shore  there  is 
usually  little  more  than  a  ground  swell.  The 
shores  of  the  lake  are  characterized  generally 
by  hard,  sandy  beaches,  overlooked  by  bluffs  or 
rocky  promontories.  With  the  exception  of 
San  Carlos  there  "are  only  a  few  hamlets  on  the 
eastern  shore,  the  large  towns  being  all  on  the 
west  side.  The  chief  of  these  are  Granada,  near 
the  head,  and  Eivas  and  San  Jorge,  near  the 
foot  of  the  lake. 

Navigation  on  the  lake  is  rendered  dangerous 
for  small  boats  by  the  prevalence  of  violent 
thunder  squalls  during  at  least  nine  months  of 
the  year.  For  that  reason,  probably,  only  an 
occasional  sail  is  to  be  seen  upon  the  lake,  ex- 
cept near  the  western  shore,  where  numerous 
small  craft  ply.  A  few  clumsy,  schooner- 
rigged  bungoes  cross  the  lake.  There  is  only 
one  steamer  on  the  lake,  the  Victoria,  a 
stanch  vessel  of  the  seagoing  type  and  about 

158 


300  tons,  owned  by  the  company  which  has  the 
steamers  on  the  river.  This  boat,  built  at 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  in  1882,  was  warped  up 
the  rapids  of  the  San  Juan  during  the  high- 
water  season.  She  is  a  twin-screw  vessel  and 
comparatively  fast,  as  she  makes  the  voyage 
between  San  Carlos  and  Granada,  110  miles,  in 
a  little  less  than  eleven  hours.  She  makes  two 
or  three  trips  a  week  between  those  points,  and 
touches  at  San  Jorge  on  the  return  to  San 
Carlos.  The  Victoria  is  not  by  any  means  the 
first  steamer  to  ply  on  the  lake.  The  transit 
company,  already  referred  to,  had  several 
steamers  plying  between  San  Carlos  and  La 
Virgen,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake,  from 
1850  to  1866.  We  saw  the  ribs  of  two  of  them 
projecting  from  the  shallow  water  of  the  lake  a 
short  distance  from  the  beach  at  San  Carlos. 

The  Victoria  met  us  at  San  Carlos  and  we 
spent  the  night  on  board. 

At  five  o'clock  next  morning  we  started  for 
Granada.  The  weather  was  bright,  and  we  had 
an  excellent  view  of  the  lake  and  its  surround- 
ings. By  eleven  o'clock  we  had  Ometepec  and 
Medeira  abeam  on  the  port  hand.  Ometepec  is 

L  161 


an  almost  perfect  cone,  and  probably  is  without 
an  equal  in  symmetry  among  mountains  the 
world  over.  We  were  not  close  enough  to  dis- 
tinguish the  minor  features  of  the  island,  but  it 
appeared  to  be  densely  wooded.  In  marked 
contrast,  however,  with  the  rich  green  of  the 
landscapes  we  had  hitherto  seen,  it  looked  sere 
and  brown.  We  saw  afterward  that  all  vegeta- 
tion on  the  west  side  of  the  lake  was  parched. 
The  dry  season,  which  was  now  drawing  to  its 
close,  had  been  unusually  dry.  Not  a  drop  of 
rain  had  fallen  in  six  months  and  the  fields  and 
forests  were  literally  burnt  up.  I  have  said 
elsewhere  that  from  the  middle  of  the  lake  its 
shores  are  invisible,  and  that  the  proximity  of 
land  is  indicated  only  by  the  distant  mountain 
tops.  The  blue  peaks  of  Chontales,  Matagalpa 
and  Segovia  were  just  discernible  now  in  the 
east  and  northeast. 

After  passing  Ometepec,  two  other  landmarks 
came  in  sight.  The  more  dominant  was  the 
double-headed  volcano  Mombacho,  which 
overshadows  the  city  of  Granada.  The  other 
was  the  large  volcanic  island  Zapatero,  which 
lies  about  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Ometepec- 

162 


It  is  several  miles  in  extent,  but  nowhere  more 
than  a  hundred  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
lake.  Thickly  wooded  and  supplied  with 
abundant  moisture  by  the  surrounding  water,  it 
shone  like  a  great  flat  emerald  in  the  blazing 
afternoon  sun.  When  we  had  put  Zapatero  be- 
hind us,  another  gem  of  the  lake  was  revealed. 
It  is  called  Los  Corales,  though  there  is  nothing 
coral  about  it.  At  a  distance  it  looks  like  a 
brilliant  green  cape  jutting  out  into  the  lake 
from  the  foot  of  the  somber  Mombacho,  but  a 
closer  inspection  discovers  that  it  is  a  collection 
of  the  most  charming  little  islands  the  eye  ever 
rested  on.  It  is  said  that  they  exceed  600  in 
number.  So  compact  is  the  group  that  the  in- 
numerable water  -  avenues  are  completely 
arched  with  verdure,  intermixed  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  flowers  of  various  and  brilliant  hues. 
The  vistas  of  these  embowered  waterways 
present  a  most  cooling  and  delightful  contrast 
to  the  glaring,  burning  atmosphere  without. 

Between  these  islands  and  the  mainland  is  a 
spacious  cove,  which  furnishes  the  harbor  for 
Granada.  A  long  pier,  with  a  house  at  the 
shore  end;  a  number  of  canoes  and  bungoes 

163 


anchored  in  the  still  water;  a  crowd  of  women 
and  several  ox  carts  in  the  shallow  water  near 
the  beach,  were  the  chiDJ!  features  of  the  scene 
opened  to  us  as  we  rounded  the  point  of  the 
islands.  The  women,  clad  in  a  single  chemise- 
like  garment,  the  swarthy  skin  of  their  arms 
and  shoulders  exposed  to  the  sun,  were  most 
of  them  up  to  the  waist  in  water,  washing 
clothes.  The  beach  was  white  with  clothes 
spread  out  to  dry.  The  carts  were  down  for 
water  required  in  the  town,  and  some  of  them 
were  driven  so  far  into  the  lake  that  only  the 
heads  of  the  oxen  remained  visible.  A  crowd  of 
men,  women  and  children  was  gathered  on  the 
pier,  while  about  the  building  at  the  opposite 
end  was  a  collection  of  vehicles,  some  of  which 
looked  as  if  they  might  have  been  in  use  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest.  The  pier  is  several  hun- 
dred feet  long,  and  built  upon  log  pens 
anchored  with  rock.  Pile  driving  is  unknown 
on  the  lakes.  Upon  the  pier  is  an  iron  tram- 
way for  the  handling  of  freight.  We  had  now 
also  a  near  view  of  Mombacho.  This  moun- 
tain is  not  as  high  as  Ometepec,  nor  is  it  re- 
markable for  symmetry,  but  the  peak  is  divided 

164 


by  a  curved  depression  into  two  heads.  In  the 
middle  of  the  depression  is  what  the  people 
call  the  "Lost  Lion  of  Granada."  It  is  a  forma- 
tion resembling  a  huge  lion  in  a  crouching  atti- 
tude. Although  its  bald,  black,  double-crested 
summit  bears  mute  evidence  of  the  fact,  even 
tradition  is  silent  in  regard  to  Mombacho's 
activity. 

Northwest  of  Lake  Nicaragua,  separated  from 
it  by  a  strip  of  land  about  sixteen  miles  wide  at 
the  narrowest  part,  lies  Lake  Managua.  Al- 
though greatly  inferior  in  size,  it  is  neverthe- 
less a  considerable  body  of  water.  Its  greatest 
length  is  about  fifty,  and  its  greatest  width 
about  thirty-five  miles.  The  level  of  Lake 
Managua  is  about  twenty-four  feet  above  that 
of  Nicaragua.  Upon  existing  maps  a  connec- 
tion between  the  two  lakes  is  indicated  by  the 
Eio  Tipitapa,  but  in  this,  as  in  many  other  in- 
stances in  Central  American  geography,  the 
word  river  is  misleading.  In  seasons  of  exces- 
sive rainfall  there  is  probably  a  considerable 
overflow  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  lake,  but 
ordinarily  the  channel  of  the  Tipitapa  proper  is 
quite  dry.  And  that  it  was  so  at  the  time  of 

165 


the  conquest  appears  from  the  testimony  of  the 
Spanish  chronicles  of  that  period.  The  so- 
called  river  is  formed  on  the  Nicaragua  side  by 
a  river-like  extension  of  the  lake  itself.  This 
extension,  called  the  Estero  Panaloya,  is  twelve 
miles  long,  and  at  its  head  about  300  feet  wide. 
The  banks  are  low  and  densely  wooded,  and 
the  depth  of  water  at  Pasquier,  where  the  Tipi- 
tapa  begins,  is  six  feet.  From  Pasquier  to 
Lake  Managua,  a  distance  of  four  miles  or 
therabout,  the  Tipitapa  is  a  broad  ravine  with  a 
dry  bed.  About  a  mile  below  the  lake,  oppo- 
site the  hamlet  of  Tipitapa,  is  the  fall  of  the 
same  name.  It  is  an  escarpment  about  fifteen 
feet  high.  Several  hot  springs  occur  in  the 
valley,  and  at  this  place  there  is  one  the  tem- 
perature of  which  is  near  the  boiling  point.  It 
is  noted  among  the  natives  for  its  medicinal 
properties. 

By  one  of  the  provisions  of  its  concession, 
the  Maritime  Canal  Company  of  Nicaragua  is 
required  to  cut  a  canal  from  Pasquier  to  Lake 
Managua,  navigable  for  vessels  of  six  feet  draft. 
The  material  to  be  excavated  is  soft,  volcanic 
rock  in  the  bed  of  the  Tipitapa,  and  mud,  for  a 

166 


! 


short  distance,  in  the  estero  and  Lake  Mana- 
gua. Pasquier  is  a  mere  landing  place  at  the 
head  of  the  estero,  from  which  bungoes  carry 
woods  and  other  products  to  Granada  and  else- 
where on  Lake  Nicaragua. 

Lake  Managua  is  a  mountain  amphitheater. 
On  every  side,  except  the  southeast,  it  is 
hemmed  in  by  towering  peaks.  The  mountains 
of  Matagalpa  form  a  majestic  wall  in  the  east, 
and  send  off  spurs  along  its  northern  shore  into 
the  department  of  Leon,  while  in  the  northwest 
the  volcanic  range  El  Mirabios,  the  Marvels, 
beginning  with  Momotombo  and  ending  with 
Coseguina,  stretches  from  the  lake  to  the  Gulf 
of  Fonseca,  and  separates  the  plains  of  Leon 
and  Conejo.  A  succession  of  peaks,  less  com- 
manding but  still  of  considerable  elevation,  be- 
longing to  the  same  chain,  parallels  the  western 
shore.  The  volcano  Masaya,  about  halfway 
between  the  lakes,  and  Mombacho,  already 
described,  are  also  parts  of  this  system.  Mo- 
motombo is  the  highest  mountain  in  Nicaragua. 
Its  summit  is  just  7,000  feet  above  the  sur- 
rounding plain.  It  is  cone  shaped,  but  its 
symmetry  is  marred  by  a  depression,  appar- 

169 


ently  a  crater,  on  its  western  slope  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  way  up.  Vegetation  also  stops 
about  the  same  altitude  on  all  sides.  Bare 
patches  of  lava  occur  lower  down,  and  on  the 
southern  side  a  great  bald  strip  extends  for  one 
or  two  miles  along  the  water's  edge.  From  the 
apex  several  columns  of  steam  rise  to  form  a 
fleecy  canopy. 

Momotombo  is  indeed  a  perennial  smoker. 
It  was  smoking  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  and 
has  been  smoking  ever  since,  but  it  has  never 
been  known  to  be  in  actual  eruption.  It  is  said 
by  the  natives  that  no  one  has  succeeded  in  ac- 
complishing the  ascent  of  this  mountain.  Im- 
mediately after  the  conquest  the  Spanish 
priests,  in  an  excess  of  religious  zeal,  essayed  to 
plant  the  cross  upon  the  summit  of  every  moun- 
tain in  the  countrjr,  but  the  two  friars  who  set 
out  to  Christianize  Momotombo  were  not  seen 
or  heard  of  afterward.  That  circumstance 
seems  to  have  cooled  the  ardor  of  the  survivors, 
for  no  further  efforts  were  made  to  convert  the 
mountain.  In  the  arid  strip  above  spoken  of 
are  numerous  hot  springs,  which  send  forth  jets 
of  steam  and,  in  some  instances,  columns  of 

170 


boiling  water  two  feet  high.  Mr.  Squier,  who 
visited  these  springs  in  the  summer  of  1849, 
says  that  there  was  a  sound  below  the  surface 
of  the  earth  as  of  water  boiling  violently  in  a 
cauldron,  and  one  of  the  earliest  Spanish  chron- 
iclers recorded  that  the  Indians  of  a  village 
near  the  foot  of  the  mountain  cooked  their  food 
in  the  water  of  one  of  these  springs,  which 
would  boil  an  egg  quicker  than  he  could  say  an 
ave. 

Standing  in  the  lake  about  three  miles  south- 
east of  Momotombo,  is  Momotombito,  or  little 
Momotombo,  a  beautiful  dome-shaped  peak, 
perhaps  3,000  feet  high,  wooded  to  the  crest.  It 
is  about  eight  miles  in  circumference.  Not- 
withstanding its  delightful  situation  it  is  unin- 
habited now,  but  the  Indians  occupied  it  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest,  and  there  are  many  stone 
monuments  and  other  archaeological  remnants 
concealed  beneath  its  tangled  vegetation.  One 
or  two  specimens  secured  by  Squier  from  this 
island  are  now  in  the  Smithsonian  Institute 
at  Washington.  The  volcanic  mountains  and 
islands  in  the  lakes  were  favorite  places  with 
the  Indians  for  rearing  their  temples  and  bury- 

171 


ing  their  dead.  Probably  the  superstitious  awe 
inspired  by  the  mysterious  and  tremendous 
energies  they  manifested  was  the  chief  factor 
in  determining  their  selection. 

The  Marvels,  besides  others  less  conspicuous, 
include  nine  principal  peaks.  These  are,  in  the 
order  of  their  position^proceeding  from  the  lake 
northward,  Momotombo,  Axusco  (or  Asosco), 
Las  Pilas,  Orota,  San  Jacinto,  Telica,  Santa 
Clara,  Viejo,  and  Coseguina.  Another,  besides 
Momotombo,  was  smoking  at  the  time  of  my 
visit  to  Leon,  but  as  it  was  some  distance  away 
I  could  not  ascertain  its  name.  Second  in  point 
of  height  only  to  Momotombo  is  Viejo,  6,000 
feet  high.  It  is  quiet  now,  but  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century  it  emitted 
smoke  by  day  and  "flames  at  night."  Telica, 
which  is  the  nearest  to  the  city  of  Leon  (about 
twenty  miles),  and  two  others,  probably  Santa 
Clara  and  Viejo,  were  described  at  the  time  of 
the  conquest  as  emitting  great  volumes  of 
smoke,  which  covered  the  country  to  the  west- 
ward, and  was  hot  enough  to  destroy  the  crops 
when  atmospheric  conditions  drove  it  to  the 
ground.  In  April,  1850,  a  volcanic  eruption  oc- 

172 


eurrecl  near  the  base  of  Las  Pilas,  which  had 
been  quiet  for  centuries.  For  two  days  loud 
rumbling  noises  had  been  heard,  and  repeated 
earthquake  shocks  felt  at  Leon,  and  on  Sunday 
morning,  April  13th,  a  vent  was  made  in  the 
plain.  Smoke,  flames,  fragments  of  rock,  and 
lava  were  ejected  with  a  great  roaring  sound  to 
the  height  of  several  hundred  feet.  The  eruption 
was  continuous  for  seven  days,  and  then  sub- 
sided into  occasional  outbreaks.  The  earth- 
quake shocks  were  not  severe  enough  to  do  any 
damage  in  Leon,  nor  was  there  any  elevation  of 
the  earth  surrounding  the  vent,  but  the  dis- 
charge of  fragmentary  rock  and  stones  was 
sufficient  to  form  around  it  a  cone  about  200 
feet  high  and  600  yards  in  circumference,  at  the 
base.  In  two  weeks  to  the  day  the  eruptions 
ceased  altogether.  Squier,  who  visited  it  when 
its  activity  was  subsiding,  says  the  cone  was 
covered  with  yellow  patches,  caused  by  crystal- 
lized sulphur  deposited  by  the  hot  vapors  escap- 
ing through  the  loose  stones. 

The  bases  of  the  mountains  in  this  part  of  the 
range  are  surrounded  by  the  malpais,  or  bad 
lands,  referred  to  in  the  opening  chapter. 

173 


These  extend  in  some  places  "for  leagues  in 
every  direction.  The  lava  current  in  places 
seems  to  have  spread  out  in  sheets,  flowing 
elsewhere,  however,  in  high  and  -serpentine 
ridges,  resembling  cyclopean  walls,  often  capric- 
iously inclosing  spaces  of  arable  ground,  in 
which  vegetation  is  luxuriant:  these  are  called 
by  the  natives  corrales,  yards.  Hot  springs, 
and  openings  in  the  ground  emitting  hot  air, 
smoke  and  steam,  called  in/ernillos,  are  com- 
mon around  the  bases  of  these  volcanoes.  For 
large  spaces  the  whole  ground  seems  resting 
upon  a  boiling  cauldron,  and  is  encrusted  with 
mineral  deposits.  There  are  also  many  places 
where  the  ground  is  depressed  and  bare,  re- 
sembling a  honeycombed,  ferruginous  clajr  pit, 
from  which  sulphurous  vapors  are  constantly 
rising,  destroying  vegetation  in  the  vicinity, 
but  especially  to  the  leeward,  where  they  are 
carried  by  the  wind.  By  daylight  nothing  is 
to  be  seen  at  these  places,  except  a  kind  of 
tremulous  motion  of  the  heated  atmosphere 
near  the  surface  of  the  ground.  But  at  night 
the  whole  is  lighted  by  a  flickering,  bluish  and 
ethereal  flame,  like  that  of  burning  spirits, 

174 


COLONEL   PETER   C.  HAINS,  U.  S.  A.,  MEMBER    OF  THE   NICARAGUA   CANAL 
COMMISSION 


which  spreads  at  oiie  moment  over  the  whole 
surface,  at  the  next  shoots  up  into  high  spires, 
and  then  diffuses  itself  again  in  a  strange,  un- 
earthly manner.  This  is  called  by  the  "gente 
delcampo"  the  people  of  the  fields,  "la  bailede 
los  Demonios,9  the  dance  of  the  devils."* 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  centers  of  vol- 
canic energy  on  the  face  of  the  earth  is  the 
now  inactive  crater  of  Masaya.  At  the  time  of 
the  conquest  it  was  filled  with  a  mass  of  molten 
matter,  the  reflection  from  which  illuminated 
the  surrounding  country  at  night  for  leagues. 
It  so  greatly  impressed  the  superstitious 
Spaniards  that  they  called  it  El  Inferno  de 
Masaya,  the  Hell  of  Masaya,  while  its  Aztec 
name,  Popogatepec,  smoking  mountain,  bears 
witness  to  its  activity  for  ages.  The  cupidity 
of  the  Spaniards  led  them1  to  believe  that  the 
glittering  mass  at  the  bottom  of  the  crater  was 
molten  gold,  and  one,  Fray  Bias  de  Castillo,  at 
the  imminent  risk  of  being  roasted  alive  or 
suffocated  by  the  sulphurous  fumes,  caused 
himself  to  be  lowered  into  the  crater  so  that 
he  could  reach  the  shining  matter  with  an  iron 

*Squier's  "Nicaragua." 
M 


bucket  attached  to  a  long  chain.  One  account 
has  it  that  his  foolhardiness  was  rewarded 
with  only  a  bucketful  of  pumice,  while  accord- 
ing to  another,  which  seems  the  more  credible, 
as  soon  as  the  bucket  touched  the  fiery  surface 
it  was  melted  off.  The  crater  is  described  as 
about  800  feet  deep  and  the  matter  at  the  bot- 
tom, says  the  chronicler,  "resembles  a  red  sea, 
and  its  commotions  make  as  much  noise  as  do 
the  waves  of  the  ocean  when  they  dash  against 
the  rocks.  This  sea  looks  like  the  metal  of 
which  bells  are  made,  or  sulphur  or  gold  in  a 
state  of  fusion,  except  that  it  is  covered  with  a 
black  scum,  two  or  three  fathoms  thick.  Were 
it  not  for  this  mass  of  scum,  or  scoriae,  the  fire 
would  throw  out  such  an  ardor  and  luster  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  remain  near  it,  or 
look  upon  it.  Sometimes  it  breaks  apart  in 
certain  places,  and  then  one  can  perceive  the 
matter,  red  and  brilliant  as  the  light  of  heaven. 
In  the  midst  constantly  rise  two  large  masses 
of  melted  metal,  four  or  five  fathoms  across, 
which  are  constantly  free  from  scum,  and  from 
which  the  liquid  metal  leaps  forth  on  every 
side.  The  sound  of  these  melted  streams, 


dashing  against  the  rocks,  is  like  that  of  artillery 
battering  the  walls  of  a  city.  The  rocks 
around  this  sea  of  metal  are  black  to  the  height 
of  seven  or  eight  fathoms,  which  proves  that 
the  liquid  matter  sometimes  rises  to  that  dis- 
tance. Upon  the  northeastern  side  of  the 
crater  is  the  opening  of  a  cavern,  very  deep, 
and  as  wide  as  the  range  of  an  arquebuse.  A 
stream  of  burning  liquid  flows  into  this  cavern, 
which  seems  to  be  the  outlet  of  the  crater.  It 
runs  for  a  few  moments,  stops,  then  com- 
mences again,  and  so  on  constantly.  There 
comes  from  this  cavern  a  thick  smoke,  greater 
than  rises  from  the  whole  lake,  which  diffuses 
on  all  sides  a  very  strong  odor.  There  comes 
forth  also  a  heat  and  brilliancy  which  cannot 
be  described. 

"During  the  night  the  summit  of  the  mountain 
is  perfectly  illuminated,  as  are  also  the  clouds, 
which  seem  to  form  a  kind  of  tiara  above  it, 
which  may  be  seen  eighteen  or  twenty  leagues 
on  the  land,  and  upward  of  thirty  at  sea.  The 
darker  the  night  the  more  brilliant  the  volcano. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  neither  above  nor 
below  can  the  least  flame  be  seen,  except  when  a 

179 


stone  or  arrow  is  thrown  into  the  crater,  which 
burns  like  a  candle."*  The  final  eruption,  the 
last  expiring  effort,  of  this  volcano  occurred  in 
1670,  when  it  threw  forth  great  quantities  of 
lava,  that  covered  leagues  of  the  plain  interven- 
ing between  the  mountain  and  the  lakes,  and 
to-day  resembles  a  vast  field  of  cast  iron. 
With  that  effort  the  fires  of  the  volcano  were 
extinguished,  though  it  did  emit  some  smoke 
and  ashes  in  1857. 

The\  volcano,  however,  is  not  more  remark- 
able than  the  lake,  of  the  same  name,  which 
reposes  at  its  feet.  This  lake  is  about  three 
miles  in  diameter.  The  surface  of  the  water  is 
about  200  feet  below  that  of  Lake  Managua, 
and  it  is  surrounded,  except  on  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  where  the  overflow  of  lava  has 
formed  a  rough  slope,  by  precipitous  cliffs 
measuring  348  feet  above  the  water  level.  The 
old  chroniclers  said  that  these  cliffs  were  a 
thousand  fathoms  high,  and  Squier  estimated 
them  at  about  1,000  feet,  but  their  actual 
height  determined  by  measurements  is  as  given 
above.  Although  the  lake  has  no  outlet  the 

*Ovideo,  quoted  by  Squier. 
180 


water  is  fresh  and  wholesome,  and  the  chief 
source  of  supply  for  the  large  town  of  Masaya, 
close  at  hand.  The  water  is  certainly  very 
deep  and  the  Indians  say  the  lake  is  bottom- 
less. There  seems  little  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  basin  of  this  lake  was  hollowed  out  by  a 
stupendous  volcanic  explosion.  Mr.  Belt,  who 
made  a  careful  examination  of  the  surrounding 
cliffs,  found  that  they  are  composed  of  six  dif- 
ferent strata,  which  he  describes  as  follows: 
vAt  the  bottom  are  seen  great  cliffs  of  massive 
trachyte.  Above  this  is  an  ash  bed,  then  a 
bed  of  breccia,  containing  fragments  of  trachyte, 
then  another  bed  of  cinders,  which  looks  like  a 
rough  sandstone,  but  is  pisolitic,  and  contains 
pebbles  of  the  size  of  a  bean.  This  bed  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  bed  of  great  interest.  It  is  com- 
posed of  fine  tufa,  in  which  is  imbedded  a 
great  number  of  large  angular  fragments  of 
trachyte,  some  of  which  are  more  than  three 
feet  in  diameter.  It  is  the  last  bed  but  one, 
the  surface  being  composed  of  lightly  coherent 
strata  of  tufaceous  ash,  worn  into  an  undu- 
lating surface  by  the  action  of  the  elements. 
I  believe  there  is  but  one  explanation  possible 

181 


of  the  origin  of  these  strata,  namely,  that  the 
great  bed  of  trachyte  at  the  base  is  an  ancient 
lava  bed;  that  this,  perhaps  long  after  it  was 
consolidated,  was  covered  by  beds  of  ashes  and 
scoriae  thrown  out  by  a  not  far  distant  volcano, 
and  that  at  last  a  great  convulsion  broke 
through  the  trachyte  bed  and  hurled  the  frag- 
ments over  the  country  along  with  dense  vol- 
umes of  dust  and  ashes.  The  angular  blocks 
of  trachyte  imbedded  in  stratum  No.  5,  are  ex- 
actly the  same  in  composition  as  the  great  bed 
below,  and  in  them  I  think  we  see  the  frag- 
ments of  the  rocks  that  once  filled  the  perpen- 
dicular-sided hollow  now  occupied  by  the  lake. 
Looking  at  the  vast  force  required  to  hollow 
out  the  basin  of  the  lake,  by  blasting  out  the 
whole  contents  into  the  air — distributing  them 
over  the  country  so  that  they  have  not  been 
piled  up  in  a  volcanic  cone  round  the  vent,  but 
lie  in  comparatively  level  beds — 1  cannot  ex- 
pect that  this  explanation  will  be  readily  re- 
ceived, nor  should  I  myself  have  advanced  it  if 
1  could  in  any  other  way  account  for  the  phe- 
nomena. 

"  Still,  within  historical    times,  there    have 

182 


been  volcanic  outbursts,  not  of  such  magnitude, 
certainly,  as  was  required  to  excavate  the  basin 
of  the  lake  of  Masaya,  but  still  of  sufficient  ex- 
tent to  show  that  such  an  origin  is  not  beyond 
the  limits  of  possibility.  Thus  in  the  same 
line  of  volcanic  energy,  there  was  an  eruption 
of  the  volcano  of  Coseguina,  on  the  20th  of 
January,  1835,  when  dense  volumes  of  dust  and 
ashes  and  fragments  of  rocks,  were  hurled  up 
in  the  air  and  deposited  over  the  country 
around.  The  vast  quantity  of  material  thrown 
out  by  this  explosion  may  be  gathered  from 
the  fact  that,  120  miles  away,  near  the  volcano 
of  San  Miguel,  the  dust  was  so  thick  that  it 
was  quite  dark  from  four  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing until  nearly  noon  the  next  day ;  and  even  at 
that  distance  there  was  deposited  a  layer  of  fine 
ashes  four  inches  deep.  The  noise  of  the  ex- 
plosion was  heard  at  the  city  of  Guatemala, 
400  miles  to  the  westward,  and  at  Jamaica,  800 
miles  to  the  northeast." 

A  strong  confirmation  of  the  theory  so  mod- 
estly put  forth  by  Mr.  Belt,  but  apparently 
overlooked  by  him,  is  the  statement  of  Squier, 
that  the  crater  formed  by  the  explosion  of  Cose- 

183 


guina  is  several  miles  in  circumference,  and 
therefore  not  very  much  smaller  than  that  of 
Masaya.  He  adds:  ''The  quantity  of  matter 
ejected  was  incredible  in  amount.  1  am  in- 
formed by  the  captain  of  a  vessel  which  passed 
along  the  coast  a  few  days  thereafter,  that  the 
sea  for  fifty  leagues  was  covered  with  floating 
masses  of  pumice,  and  that  he  sailed  for  a 
whole  day  through  it  without  being  able  to  dis- 
tinguish but  here  and  there  an  open  space  of 
water."  A  further  confirmation  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  there  are  many  other  basins  of  the 
same  character,  though  much  smaller,  within  a 
radius  of  twenty  miles  of  Masaya  and  some 
others  in  different  parts  of  the  Mirabios. 
There  is  one  close  to  the  city  of  Managua, 
which  also  contains  fresh  water,  but  in  some  of 
these  basins  the  water  is  salt. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   PACIFIC   SLOPE. 

THE  Pacific  slope  is  at  once  the  grain-field 
and  the  garden  of  Nicaragua.  It  was  densely 
populated,  and  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation  at 
the  advent  of  the  Spaniards.  The  old  chroni- 
clers were  amazed  at  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
and  called  it  "a  land  of  abundance,  of  good 
fruits  and  of  honey  and  wax."  Concerning  the 
inhabitants  it  was  said:  "They  had  a  great 
quantity  of  cotton  cloths,  and  they  held  their 
markets  in  the  open  squares,  where  they 
traded.  They  had  a  manufactory  where  they 
made  cordage  of  a  sort  of  nequin,  which  is  like 
carded  flax ;  the  cord  was  beautiful  and  stronger 
than  that  of  Spain,  and  their  cotton  canvas  was 
excellent.  The  Indians  were  very  civilized  in 
their  way  of  life,  like  those  of  Mexico,  for  they 
were  a  people  who  had  come  from  that  country, 
and  they  had  nearly  the  same  language.  They 

185 


had  many  beautiful  women.  The  husbands 
were  so  much  under  subjection  that  if  they 
made  their  wives  angry  they  were  turned  out  of 
doors,  and  the  wives  even  raised  their  hands 
against  them." 

The  difference  in  climate  and  vegetation  be- 
tween the  two  coasts  was  referred  to  in  the 
opening  chapter.  The  average  temperature, 
the  year  round,  at  America  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  is  only  77  1-6°,  while  during  our  stay  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  in  the  month  of  April,  the 
thermometer  every  where  ranged  from  95°  to  98° 
F.  between  11  A.M.  and  5  P.M.  The  Atlantic 
coast  is  perennially  clothed  in  green,  while  the 
Pacific  coast,  on  account  of  its  long  dry  season, 
is  parched  and  dead  in  March  and  April. 
When  we  arrived  there  the  prevailing  color  of 
the  landscape  was  a  brownish  yellow,  from  the 
dust  which  had  settled  upon  everything  above 
the  surface  of  the  earth.  Not  a  drop  of  rain 
had  fallen  in  six  months.  The  fields  were  as 
bare  as  they  are  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
United  States  during  midwinter,  while  the  for- 
ests seemed  as  if  they  had  never  grown  under- 
brush. Even  the  smaller  trees  were  leafless  on 

186 


their  lower  branches,  though  many  of  them 
had  sickly  tufts  of  green  on  their  tops.  Only 
the  lofty  trees,  whose  taproots  found  moisture 
far  below  the  surface,  wore  verdant  or  flowery 
crowns,  as  if  indifferent  to  the  withering 
drought  about  them.  All  of  the  streams  were 
dried  up,  but  there  was  a  little  moisture  left  in 
the  deep  ravines  which  formed  their  beds,  so 
here  and  there  a  ribbon  of  living  green  formed 
a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  dead  landscape  every- 
where else.  Numerous  fires  had  been  set  to 
burn  the  stubble  from  the  fields  and.  the  dead 
brush  from  the  forests,  so  that  the  atmosphere 
was  hazy  with  smoke.  After  the  rainy  season 
sets  in,  however,  a  wonderful  transformation 
comes  over  the  face  of  the  country.  The  fields 
are  covered  with  verdure,  the  trees  put  forth 
blossoms  and  new  leaves,  and  the  earth  smiles 
as  if  still  in  the  first  blush  of  youth. 

There  is  a  difference  in  kind,  as  well  as  in 
season,  between  the  vegetation  of  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  coasts.  Generally  speaking,  the 
underbrush  is  neither  so  varied  nor  so  luxuriant 
on  the  latter  as  on  the  former.  The  various 

palms  and  foliaceous  tree  ferns,  which  form  so 

187 


conspicuous  a  feature  of  the  forest  between 
Greytown,  and  the  lakes,  disappear  on  the 
Pacific  slope,  and  almost  the  only  species  of 
palm  to  be  seen  are  the  cocoanut  and  the  coyol 
or  wine-palm  (Cocos  Butyracea).  This  last 
tree,  besides  producing  in  great  clusters  a  nut 
like  a  diminutive  cocoanut,  which  renders  a 
very  fine  oil,  yields  a  palatable  drink,  that  was 
one  of  the  few  intoxicants  known  to  the  Indians 
before  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards.  The  wine 
is  secured  by  felling  the  tree  and  making  a 
large  oblong  opening  in  the  trunk  just  below 
the  leafy  crown.  In  a  day  or  two  the  opening 
will  be  filled  with  the  sap  of  the  tree,  a  clear 
yellowish  liquid,  which  ferments  as  it  collects. 

The  wine  will  continue  to  run  for  about 
twenty  days,  so  that  each  tree  yields  several 
gallons.  Mr.  Belt  was  told  thab  a  very  large 
grove  of  these  trees  near  Granada  was  cut  down 
by  the  government,  because  the  Indians  used 
to  assemble  there  and  get  drunk  during  their 
festivals. 

The  Indians  may  be  given  to  getting  drunk 
on  festal  occasions,  but  so  far  as  I  was  able  to 
observe,  their  everyday  life  seemed  to  be  char- 

188 


acterized  by  remarkable  sobriety.  Some  of 
the  larger  trees  are  common  to  both  coasts, 
while  others  are  peculiar  to  the  Pacific  coast. 
A  tree  which  attains  great  size  here  and  is  also 
very  common  is  the  cebia,  or  cojfctonwood.  It 
is  used  almost  entirely  by  the  Indians  for  mak- 
ing their  bungoes  or  larger  boats,  which  are 
simply  shaped  from  the  trunk  and  then  hol- 
lowed out.  The  fustic,  a  valuable  dyewood,  is 
found  in  great  abundance  in  the  forests  of  the 
Pacific  coast  and  extensively  exported.  The 
mahogany  is  also  abundant  here.  One  of  its 
chief  uses  is  to  furnish  wheels  for  the  caretta 
or  ox-cart,  which  is  one  of  the  features  of  the 
country. 

The  chief  cities  of  Nicaragua  are  situated  on 
the  Pacific  slope.  These  are  in  the  order  of 
their  importance  as  determined  by  population, 
Leon,  Masaya,  Granada,  Chinandega,  Managua, 
Rivas,  Chichigalpa,  El  Viejo,  San  Jorge,  Co- 
rinto,  and  San  Juan  del  Sur.  .  Corintoisthe^sea- 
port  of  the  department  of  Leon  and  Chinandega; 
San  Juan  del  Sur,  that  of  Rivas,  and  San  Jorge 
is  the  port  of  Rivas  on  Lake  Nicaragua.  In  the 
eastern  departments  are  also  many  towns,  but 

189 


few  worthy  of  note.  These  last  are  Matagalpa, 
in  the  department  of  the  same  name;  Ocotal,  in 
Segovia;  and  Acoyapa,  Libertad  and  Juigalpa, 
in  Chontales. 

Granada  is  in  some  respects  the  most  notable 
city  in  Nicaragua.  It  was  the  earliest  Spanish 
settlement  in  the  country,  though,  as  is  true  of 
nearly  every  one  of  the  other  cities,  there  was 
an  Indian  town  upon  the  site  before  the  coming 
of  the  invader.  For  more  than  two  hundred 
years  it  was  the  commercial  center  of  the 
province,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  that  time 
of  all  Central  America.  Consequently  it  was 
the  seat  of  much  wealth.  In  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  a  great  fair  was  held  there 
annually,  at  which  the  merchandize  of  Spain 
was  exchanged  for  the  products  of  the  country, 
and  the  transactions,  computed  in  the  values  of 
the  present  day,  amounted  to  several  millions 
of  dollars.  But  it  has  known  misfortune  as 
well  as  prosperity.  It  was  twice  burned;  first 
by  the  pirates  of  the  South  Sea,  as  the  Pacific 
was  then  called  in  1686,  and  again  in  1855  by 
the  equally  lawless  filibuster,  Walker. 

The  Granada  of  to-day  is  substantially  a  re- 

190 


production  of  the  city  destroyed  by  Walker. 
It  is  situated  between  one  and  two  miles  from 
the  lake,  and  on  that  side  is  built  upon  ter- 
races. The  streets  ascend  from  one  terrace  to 
another  by  steep,  paved  declivities.  The  city 
is  well  laid  out  with  the  streets  at  right  angles. 
The  buildings,  with  few  exceptions,  but  one 
story  in  height,  are  constructed  of  adobe  (sun- 
dried  brick),  or  tufa,  a  soft,  volcanic  rock,  which 
on  exposure  to  the  sun  and  air  becomes  very 
hard.  The  roofs  are  of  tiles  laid  upon  small 
bamboo  poles  with  which  the  rafters  are 
covered.  The  eaves  project  over  the  sidewalks, 
which  are  narrow,  and  thus  afford  protection  to 
foot  passengers  from  the  sun  and  rain.  Each 
dwelling  has  one  large  double  door  opening  as 
a  rule  from  the  street  into  the  reception  room, 
or  sala,  which  is  also  the  family  sitting  room. 
In  some  instances  there  is  a  second  door  afford- 
ing communication  between  the  street  and  an- 
other apartment  of  the  building,  while  in  others 
the  entrance  is  through  a  gate  opening  on  a 
passageway  leading  to  the  courtyard.  The 
windows  are  few  and  small.  They  are  always 
without  sashes  or  exterior  shutters,  but  are 

191 


generally  characterized  by  small  semicircular 
balconies  protected  by  iron  bars  or  wicker- 
work.  Every  dwelling  is  built  around  a  rec- 
tangular courtyard,  which  is  encompassed  by  a 
veranda  and  planted  with  fruit  and  flowering 
trees.  The  family  apartments,  seldom  more 
than  six  in  number,  are  arranged  on  three  sides 
of  the  courtyard,  the  kitchen,  storeroom,  bath, 
etc.,  being  on  the  other  side.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, there  is  a  second  courtyard  on  which  are 
placed  the  servants'  rooms  and  other  accessory 
apartments.  The  main  rooms  are  each  con- 
nected with  the  adjoining  and  with  the  interior 
veranda  by  doors.  Where,  as  is  frequently  the 
case,  especially  if  the  building  fronts  on  a 
plaza,  there  is  an  exterior  veranda,  each  of  the 
adjoining  rooms  has  a  door  opening  on  it.  The 
floors  are  generally  of  large  red  tiles,  but  in 
some  instances  the  parlor  is  floored  with  en- 
ameled or  ornamented  tiles.  The  houses  stand 
flush  against  each  other  and  being  generally  of 
the  same  style  and  material,  have,  in  many 
places,  the  appearance  of  a  single  building 
covering  the  entire  block. 
The  plaza  is  inclosed  by  a  fence  and  laid  out 

192 


with  walks  between  which  are  planted  orna- 
mental and  flowering  trees  and  shrubs.  The 
plaza  is  about  the  only  place  within  the  city 
proper  where  trees  are  to  be  seen,  as  there  are 
few  if  any  in  the  streets,  and  those  in  the 
courtyards  are  invisible  from  without.  The 
streets  in  the  center  of  the  city  are  paved  with 
flagstones  on  the  sidewalks  and  cobblestones 
on  the  roadbeds.  The  latter  are  depressed  in 
the  middle  for  the  purpose  of  drainage.  The 
plaza  is  the  business  as  well  as  the  geometric 
center  of  the  city.  On  the  south  side  of  it  is 
the  market  place,  surrounding  it,  and  on  the 
streets  in  its  immediate  neighborhood  are 
situated  the  principal  stores,  warehouses,  resi- 
dences and  public  buildings.  At  the  southeast- 
ern angle  of  the  plaza  stands  the  unfinished 
church  of  San  Juan  de  Dios,  which  has  been 
more  than  a  century  in  building,  yet  at  the 
time  of  my  visit  more  resembled  a  ruin  than  an 
edifice  in  course  of  construction.  Throughout 
Nicaragua  religious  zeal  has  found  expression 
for  centuries  in  the  erection  of  vast  temples, 
and  this  particular  one  was  designed  to  be 

second  in  size  only  to  the  great  cathedral  of 
N  193 


Leon.  However,  no  work  has  been  done  on  it 
for  years,  and  doubt  may  well  be  entertained, 
now,  whether  it  will  ever  be  finished.  As  the 
city  has  several  imposing  though  not  particu- 
larly ornate  church  edifices  already,  it  may 
also  be  doubted  whether  this  last  is  actually 
needed. 

But  the  march  of  improvement,  though  ar- 
rested in  church  building,  continues  in  other 
directions.  Since  the  tap  of  the  trowel  has 
died  upon  the  walls  of  San  Juan  de  Dios,  the 
screech  of  the  locomotive  has  waked  the  echoes 
of  the  surrounding  hills  and  startled  the  slum- 
bering lion  upon  the  lofty  summit  of  Mom- 
bacho.  Of  that,  however,  more  hereafter.  Let 
us  glance  meanwhile  at  the  new,  commodious 
market  place  finished  in  1891,  where  Indian 
and  half-breed  women  complacently  smoke 
pur os,  or  long  thin  cigars,  and  exhibit  the  prod- 
ucts and  wares  of  the  country,  Here  the  fact 
which  first  and  foremost  claims  your  attention 
is  the  astonishing  variety  of  fruits  exposed  for 
sale.  Cacao  beans  by  the  bushel,  melons,  plan- 
tains, bananas,  bread-fruit,  oranges,  lemons, 
limes,  citron,  cocoanuts,  guavas,  anonas  or 

194 


chirimoyas,  white  and  yellow  guayaquils, 
pineapples,  mamays,  mangos,  plums,  the 
avocado,  or  alligator  pear,  and  others  never  seen 
or  heard  of  in  Northern  markets.  The  display 
of  vegetables  is  almost  as  varied,  and  a  con- 
spicuous part  of  it  is  the  frijoles,  or  beans  of 
different  sizes,  which,  with  or  without  rice, 
form  a  staple  article  of  diet  with  all  classes. 
Dulces,  or  sweetmeats,  are  in  great  demand 
among  young  and  old,  high  and  low,  and  these 
are  consequently  offered  for  sale  in  rich  pro- 
fusion at  the  tiste  stands.  Tiste  is  the  most 
popular  drink  of  the  country.  It  is  a  com- 
pound of  chocolate,  parched  corn  meal  and 
water,  mixed  to  your  order  by  a  plump  senorita 
and  served  in  a  jicara  cup  with  a  round  bottom. 
Some  members  of  our  party  professed  to  relish 
it,  but  after  the  first  trial  I  never  ordered  it, 
when  anything  else  in  the  way  of  liquid  refresh- 
ment was  to  be  had.  Among  other  things  of 
interest  offered  for  sale  in  the  market  are  elab- 
orately carved  drinking  cups  of  cocoanut  and 
jicara  shells,  Indian  earthenware,  hammocks 
and  saddle-bags  made  of  pita,  a  white  and  ex- 
ceedingly strong  fiber  procured  from  a  species 

195 


of  agave  or  aloe  plant,  silken  sashes  of  brilliant 
colors,  parrots,  parroquets  and  even  monkeys. 

Besides  the-  churches,  the  chief  of  which  are 
San  Francisco,  La  Mercedes  and  the  parochial, 
and  the  university  referred  to  in  the  opening 
chapter,  there  are  no  public  buildings  worthy 
of  note.  There  is,  however,  on  one  of  the  prin- 
cipaltstreets  within  a  block  of  the  plaza,  a  spa- 
ciousvresidence  upon  the  foundations  of  what 
was  ill  early  colonial  days  the  vice-regal 
palace,  \i  building  that  was  standing  at  the 
time  of  Ae  destruction  of  the  city  by  Walker. 
Upon  an  adjoining  lot,  forming  indeed  a  part  of 
the  premises,  and  connected  with  the  residence 
by  a  private  entrance,  stands  the  theater  of 
Granada,  a  rude  wooden  structure  capable  of 
seating  several  hundred  persons.  Between  the 
building  and  the  street  is  a  courtyard  sur- 
rounded by  booths  for  the  sale  of  dulces  and 
refreshments.  These  booths  are,  however,  not 
occupied  unless  there  is  a  performance  going 
on.  The  public  entrance  to  the  theater  is 
through  a  quaintly  ornamented  stone  archway, 
closed  by  a  wooden  gate  of  antique  design,  the 
only  relic  of  the  kind  that  survived  the  Walker 

196 


devastation.  The  entire  property  was  pur- 
chased by  a  Mr.  Espinoza,  a  short  time  before 
our  arrival,  for  about  $28,000,  United  States 
money.  Connected  with  the  university,  which 
is  of  course  under  ecclesiastical  control,  and 
therefore  circumscribed  in  its  usefulness,  is  a 
museum  said  to  contain  some  antiquities  and 
other  interesting  specimens  illustrative  of  the 
products  of  the  countr}7.  I  am  not  able,  how- 
ever, to  speak  from  personal  observation,  as  I 
did  not  find  an  opportunity  to  visit  it. 

Granada  is  a  place  of  about  15,000  inhabit- 
ants. The  proportion  of  whites  to  the  total 
population  is  probably  larger  than  in  any  other 
city  of  the  country,  and  there  as  elsewhere  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  it  is  a  rarity  to  see  a  negro  or 
a  person  with  negro  blood  in  his  veins.  Span- 
ish is  of  course  the  prevailing  language,  but  oc- 
casionally conversations  are  overheard  in  Eng- 
lish, French  or  German.  The  Indian  language 
is  still  used  to  some  extent  by  the  Indians  in 
their  intercourse  with  each  other,  but  I  did  not 
hear  it  spoken  at  all  in  Granada.  One  or  two 
weekly  papers  printed  in  Spanish  are  published 
in  the  city,  but  they  are  chiefly  devoted  to 

199 


political  controversies.  Accommodations  for 
visitors  are  very  poor.  There  are  two  or  three 
so-called  hotels  in  the  place,  but  they  are 
hardly  worthy  of  the  name.  The  best  is  kept 
by  a  man  from  the  United  States,  a  native  of 
St.  Louis.  In  a  subsequent  chapter  I  shall 
speak  more  fully  of  what  travelers  through  the 
country  will  have  to  expect  in  the  way  of 
accommodations. 

I  have  alreadj7  alluded  to  the  railroad  that 
connects  Granada  with  Managua,  the  capital  of 
the  Republic.  The  distance  between  the  two 
cities  is  about  thirty  miles,  but  the  railroad  is 
somewhat  longer  because  it  does  not  follow  a 
straight  line.  It  makes  one  deviation  to  reach 
Masaya,  and  several  others  to  avoid  mountains. 
The  running  time  between  the  cities  is  two  and 
a  half  hours,  and  the  fares  are  $1.70,  $1  and  60 
cents,  respectively,  for  first,  second  and  third 
class  passage.  A  train  leaves  each  terminus 
daily  at  6  A.M.  and  3  P.M.  It  is  a  narrow  gauge 
road,  was  built  early  in  the  eighties,  and  is 
equipped  with  rolling  stock  from  the  United 
States.  It  is  owned  by  the  government,  which 
made  the  disparity  between  the  first  and  third 

200 


class  fares  to  induce  the  common  people  to  ride. 
The  second  and  third  class  coaches  are  alike, 
and  almost  the  only  respect  in  which  the  first 
class  coaches  differ  from  them,  is  in  having  the 
seats  arranged  transversely  instead  of  length- 
wise. The  road  has  a  good  traffic  in  both 
freight  and  passengers,  and  pays,  I  was  told, 
about  six  per  cent,  above  expenses. 

About  halfway  between  Granada  and  Mana- 
gua stands  the  old  Indian  city  of  Masaya  (pro- 
nounced Ma-si-ah),  which  contains  from  18,000 
to  20,000  inhabitants,  but  was  still  more  popu- 
lous when  the  Spaniards  discovered  the  coun- 
try. Excepting  its  churches  and  its  railroad 
station,  it  probably  presents  the  same  general 
appearance  to-day  that  it  did  400  years  ago. 
There  are  several  other  distinctively  Indian 
cities  in  Nicaragua,  but  Masaya  is  the  largest, 
and  typical  of  the  rest.  A  point  of  difference 
between  Masaya  and  Granada,  and  indeed  all 
the  other  Spanish-built  cities  of  the  country, 
no  less  remarkable  than  the  dissimilarity  of 
the  buildings,  is  the  arboreous  aspect  of  the 
former.  The  Indians  plant  trees  around  their 
houses  instead  of  inside  them.  Every  dwelling 

201 


house  in  Masaya  has  several  shade  trees  about 
it,  selected  either  on  account  of  their  fruit  or 
their  flowers.  The  Indian's  love  of  flowers  is 
one  of  the  strongest  and  most  conspicuous 
traits  of  his  character.  The  streets  are  rec- 
tangular, and  the  houses  are  set  back  from  the 
sidewalk,  embowered  in  trees,  and  surrounded 
each  by  a  plot  of  ground  devoted  to  fruit  or 
floriculture  or  both.  The  houses  are  generally 
built  of  bamboo  reeds  plastered  with  mud,  and 
thatched  with  palm  leaves.  They  are  invari- 
ably of  one  story  and  usually  divided  into  two 
rooms.  On  account  of  the  patch  of  ground 
allotted  to  each  house  the  town  covers  a  large 
area.  Like  Granada  it  has  a  plaza  surrounded 
by  shops,  but  the  center  is  occupied  by  a  huge 
church  built  by  the  Spaniards.  Whether  or  not 
the  Spaniards  borrowed  the  idea  of  the  plaza 
from  the  Indians,  it  is  certain  that  the  latter 
built  their  towns  with  an  open  square  in  the 
center,  which  was  used,  as  that  at  Masaya  is  to 
this  day,  for  a  market  place.  It  was  probably 
at  Masaya  that  Gil  Gonzalez  was  attacked  by 
the  Cacique  Diriangan,  who  ruled  over  the 

country  round  about,  and  it  is  recorded  of  his 

202 


handful  of  adventurers  that  they  retreated  to 
the  market  place  and  there  received  the  on- 
slaught of  the  Indians.  The  site  of  the  old 
church  was  therefore,  no  doubt,  the  scene  of 
the  first  encounter  between  the  invader  and  the 
natives.  The  Spaniards  were  outnumbered  by 
about  thirty  to  one  and  owed  their  escape, 
primarily  to  the  singular  preference  of  the 
Indians  for  making  prisoners  of  their  enemies 
instead  of  killing  them;  and,  secondarily,  to 
the  disorder  which  the  Spanish  horses  created 
in  the  Indian  ranks. 

The  plaza  of  Masaya  presents  an  animated 
scene  in  the  early  morning  and  late  afternoon, 
when  the  country  people  bring  in  their  produce 
for  sale,  and  the  artisans  expose  their  handi- 
work. Then  the  square  is  filled  with  men, 
women  and  children,  with  animals  and  carettas 
laden  with  country  produce,  fruits,  etc.,  and 
stands  covered  with  manufactured  articles. 
Masaya  is  a  thriving  and  busy  city,  and  of  all 
Nicaragua  the  chief  manufacturing  seat.  Cot- 
ton and  silk  cloths,  hats,  shoes,  pottery, 
wooden  household  utensils,  mats,  hammocks, 
saddle-bags,  cordage,  saddles,  harness,  mach- 

203 


etes,  and  all  domestic  articles  are  made  there 
in  great  quantities.  On  the  arrival  of  every 
train  women  and  young  girls  crowd  the  station 
offering  for  sale  cakes,  pies,  fruits,  tiste,  and  a 
variety  of  sweetmeats,  including  a  delicious 
guava  jelly  put  up  in  neat  little  wooden  boxes. 
Another  remarkable  fact  connected  with  Ma- 
saya  is  that  it  has  no  water  supply.  Situated 
upon  an  elevated  plateau  in  the  midst  of  a  vol- 
canic region  where  there  are  no  streams  nor 
even  springs, wells  are  impracticable,  as  water  is 
reached  only  at  a  very  great  depth.  During 
the  rainy  season  water  is  collected  in  tanks  and 
cisterns,  but  the  supply  so  procured  is  speedily 
exhausted  on  the  advent  of  the  dry  season,  and 
recourse  is  then  had  to  the  volcanic  lake  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  water  is 
brought  up  from  the  lake  in  earthen  jugs  by 
women  and  girls,  who  climb  the  steep  paths  in 
the  cliffs  with  the  jars  slung  upon  their  backs 
in  nets.  These  water-carriers,  aguadoras  they 
are  called,  form  a  distinct  class  and  are  trained 
to  their  arduous  labor  from  infancy.  They  sell 
the  water  at  from  one  to  five  cents  per  gallon, 
according  to  the  distance  it  is  carried.  About 

204 


,  a  score  of  years  ago  aii  engineer  from  the 
United  States,  named  Simpson,  erected  a  steam 
pump  to  raise  water  from  the  lake  for  the  sup- 
ply of  the  city,  but  the  aguadoras  excited  so 
much  feeling  against  it  on  the  ground  that  it 
would  destroy  their  business,  that  the  enter- 
prise failed  to  pay.  A  few  miles  from  Masaya 
is  the  large  Indian  town  of  Nindiri.  This  and 
several  smaller  towns  in  the  vicinage  procure 
their  water  supply  from  the  lake  in  the  same 
manner  as  Masaya. 

Managua,  though  covering  less  ground  than 
Granada,  and  less  populous  than  Masaya,  is  the 

.  most  progressive  and  in  some  respects  the  most 
thriving  city  in  the  country.  Though  credited 
with  only  10,000  population,  it  is  the  scene  of 
more  business  activity  than  Granada,  and  is  the 
financial  as  well  as  the  governmental  center  of 
the  republic.  It  is  situated  on  the  western  shore 
of  Lake  Managua,  near  its  southern  extremity. 
A  the  time  of  the  conquest  the  Spaniards  found 
a  populous  city  on  this  site,  and  they  rendered 
its  Indian  name  Managua.  The  first  reports 
sent  to  Spain  concerning  it  gave  its  length  as 
nine  miles,  but  a  chronicler,  who  visited  the 

205 


country  in  1529,  says  those  reports  were  gross 
exaggerations.  The  city  had  been  destroyed 
and  well  nigh  depopulated  by  murder,  or  ex- 
portation of  the  inhabitants  as  slaves,  at  the 
time  of  his  visit,  but  he  reached  the  conclusion 
that  it  originally  contained  40,000  inhabitants, 
of  whom  10,000  were  archers  or  slingers. 
When  he  saw  it,  only  six  years  after  the  con- 
quest, "it  was  the  most  completely  abandoned 
and  desolate  place  of  the  government,"  and  con- 
tained only  "10,000  souls,  of  which  600  are 
archers."* 

Managua  was  designated  as  the  place  of  meet- 
ing of  the  Congress  of  Nicaragua  in  the  original 
constitution  adopted  after  the  dissolution  of  the 
Central  American  Confederation  in  1839.  The 

*These  figures,  which  are  quoted  by  Squier  from  Gonzales 
Hernandez  de  Oviedoy  Valdez,  suggest  a  mistake  somewhere  pos- 
sibly in  the  printing  or  translation.  According  to  the  first 
statement  25  per  cent,  of  the  population  were  archers,  but  that  is 
far  too  large  a  proportion  for  men  of  all  arms,  much  moreso  for  one 
branch.  The  proportion  indicated  in  the  second  statement,  6  per 
cent. ,  is  a  more  reasonable  one,  but  at  that  ratio,  assuming  that 
the  city  could  muster  10,000  archers  before  the  Conquest,  its 
population  must  have  been  in  round  numbers  about  170,000. 
This  conclusion  is  warranted  by  the  chronicler  himself,  who 
says  further  on  that  from  all  he  had  heard  he  was  led  to  con- 
clude "the  country  was  so  populous  that  the  inhabitants  may  be 
said  to  have  fairly  swarmed." 

206 


circumstances  which  determined  its  selection 
were  the  jealousies  and  consequent  bickering 
between  Leon  and  Granada.  Still,  although  the 
congress  met  in  accordance  with  the  constitu- 
tional provision  at  Managua,  Leon  was  the  real 
seat  of  the  government  until  the  re-establish- 
ment of  order  in  1859,  after  the  civil  war  which 
culminated  in  the  usurpation  of  Walker.  Man- 
agua, by  reason  of  its  central  position,  is  better 
suited  than  either  of  the  other  cities  to  be  the 
capital  of  the  country.  The  government- 
houses,  barracks,  etc.,  are  all  on  the  plaza. 
They  are  all  two-story  buildings  constructed  of 
tufa,  and  not  remarkable  for  beauty  of  design. 
I  did  not  visit  the  halls  of  congress,  for  that 
body  was  not  in  session  at  the  time  of  our  visit. 
The  President's  reception  room  in  the  capitol  is 
a  spacious  apartment.  President  Sacassa  re- 
ceived our  party  in  state.  We  were  ushered 
into  his  presence  by  a  military  officer  in  full 
uniform.  The  President,  who  was  a  tall,  portly 
man  with  a  swarthy  complexion  and  heavy  fea- 
tures, but  rather  benignant  expression,  stood  at 
one  end  of  the  hall  between  two  of  his  min-  . 
isters,  while  at  the  other  end,  facing  him,  stood 

o  209 


three  military  officers  of  high  rank,  in  showy 
uniforms.  The  President  and  his  ministers 
wore  frock  coats  of  black  broadcloth.  The 
former  shook  hands  with  each  of  us  and  the 
latter  followed  his  example.  After  the  hand- 
shaking was  finished  we  were  invited  to  seats  in 
chairs  ranged  along  the  sides  of  the  room,  while 
the  President  and  his  ministers  seated  them- 
selves in  a  transverse  row.  The  President 
spoke  no  English,  so  what  little  conversation  we 
had  with  him  was  carried  on  through  the  medi- 
um of  an  interpreter,  which  gave  rather  a  con- 
strained character  to  the  occasion.  Champagne 
was  served  without  ice,  although  an  abundance 
of  the  latter  was  to  be  had  in  the  city.  Armed 
sentries  paced  the  interior  veranda  and  the 
sidewalk  before  the  entrance  of  the  building. 
Altogether  the  place  had  to  our  republican  eyes 
more  the  appearance  of  a  military  post  than  the 
executive  department  of  a  constitutional 
government. 

.  Managua  is  the  only  city  in  Nicaragua  that  is 
artificially  supplied  with  water,  and  the  only 
one  also  possessing  an  ice  machine.  Ice  enough 

is  produced  to  supply  all  of  the  principal  cities 

210 


on  the  west  side  of  the  lakes,  at  five  cents  per 
pound, and  the  machine  is  a  veritable  goldmine 
to  its  owners.  The  railroad  repair  shops  are 
also  located  here,  and  there  are  besides  a  soap 
factory,  a  mill  for  making  pita,  a  fiber  equal  in 
strength  and  superior  in  quality  to  manila,  and 
a  number  of  small  factories  of  domestic  wares. 
Here  likewise  are  the  central  offices  of  the 
government  telegraph  system,  which  gives  a 
cheap  and  tolerably  efficient  service  through- 
out the  country.  I  may  mention  too,  in  this 
connection,  that  Nicaragua  has  a  very  fair 
postal  service.  Several  small  steamers  of  Eng- 
lish build,  owned  by  the  government,  ply  be- 
tween Managua  and  Momotombo,  thirty-three 
miles  higher  up  the  lake,  to  connect  the  rail- 
road from  that  place  to  Corinto  with  the  sec- 
tion between  Granada  and  Managua. 

The  Bank  of  Nicaragua,  which  has  branches 
in  all  of  the  cities  and  controls  the  finances  of 
the  country,  has  its  headquarters  in  Managua. 
It  was  established  in  1888  by  Mr.  J.  Francisco 
Medina,  at  the  time  of  my  visit  Nicaraguan 
minister  to  France,  who  had  previously  origi- 
nated the  banking  systems  of  Guatemala  and 

213 


Salvador.  The  authorized  capital  is  $2,000,000, 
of  which  $625,000  has  been  paid  in.  It  has 
notes  in  circulation  to  the  amount  of  $465,000, 
and  deposits  aggregating  over  $727,000.  Its 
notes  are  receivable  for  all  government  dues, 
and  the  dividends  earned  constitute  about  nine 
per  cent,  per  annum  on  the  capital  paid  in. 
The  stock  is  not  on  the  market.  The  manager 
of  the  bank  was  Mr.  Colin  W.  Campbell,  a  cap- 
able young  Englishman.  The  banking  busi- 
ness in  these  Central  American  countries  is 
highly  renumerative.  The  stock  of  the  Guate- 
mala Bank  is  at  a  premium  of  two  hundred  per 
cent.,  and  that  of  the  Salvador  bank  at  a  pre- 
mium of  sixty  per  cent.  There  is  another  bank 
with  headquarters  at  Leon,  the  Agricultural 
and  Mercantile,  but  it  has  less  capital  and  in- 
fluence than  the  Bank  of  Nicaragua. 

Concerning  the  buildings  of  Managua  there 
is  little  to  say.  As  a  general  thing  they  are 
like  those  of  Granada,  but  they  show  here  and 
there  a  tendency  to  departure  from  uniformity 
of  style,  and  one  resident  of  more  Northern 
tastes  was  actually  erecting,  at  the  time  of  my 
visit,  a  Queen  Anne  cottage  upon  an  elevated 

214 


site  overlooking  the  lake.  Occupying  the  en- 
tire eastern  side  of  the  plaza  is  a  large  church 
with  a  double  turretted  facade,  in  which  a 
military  mass  is  said  every  Sunday  morning  for 
the  benefit  of  the  President  and  his  cabinet. 
The  military  band,  which,  by  the  way,  is  hand- 
somely uniformed  and  composed  of  excellent 
musicians,  invariably  assists  at  this  mass.  The 
traveler  fares  better  in  Managua  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  country.  There  are  three  hotels, 
two  of  which,  one  kept  by  an  English  lady,  the 
other  by  an  Italian,  furnish  excellent  meals, 
though  the  sleeping  accommodations  could  be 
greatly  improved. 

The  little  steamers  which  ply  on  the  lake  are 
not,  to  say  the  least,  provided  with  luxurious 
passenger  accommodations,  but  they  are  swift, 
making  the  trip  between  Managua  and  Momo- 
tombo  in  about  three  hours,  and  in  that  cli- 
mate, unless  rain  is  falling,  the  deck  is  prefer- 
able to  the  cabin.  The  sail  up  the  lake  is  most 
charming.  Towering  headlands  in  the  fore- 
ground, with  blue  mountain  peaks  in  the  dis- 
tance on  every  hand,  are  the  chief  features  of 
the  scenery  until  Managua  becomes  a  blurred 

215 


line  on  the  horizon,  and  a  sudden  turn  of  the 
coast  line  reveals  the  majestic,  somber,  smok- 
ing Momotombo,  and  the  beautiful  mound- 
shaped  Momotombito,  like  a  suppliant  kneeling 
at  his  feet.  Momotombito  stands  at  the  en- 
trance to  a  broad  bay  about  ten  miles  long,  at 
the  head  of  which  is  the  village  of  Momotombo. 
Once  within  this  bay  half  a  dozen  peaks  of  the 
Maribios  range  are  visible  from  the  deck  of  the 
steamer.  The  village  is  a  mere  hamlet.  An 
eating  house,  kept  by  a  German,  and  less  than 
two  score  huts  and  shanties  constitute  the 
place  outside  of  the  railroad  station.  Pas- 
sengers are  allowed  ample  time  to  get  a  meal, 
which  is  not  bad,  though  they  have  to  walk 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  through  sand  almost 
ankle  deep,  and  under  a  sun  almost  hot  enough 
to  cook  an  egg.  It  was  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake  near  this  village,  by  the  way,  that  Leon  was 
first  built.  It  was  founded  in  1523  by  Hernan- 
dez de  Cordova,  the  conqueror  of  the  country, 
and  subsequently  distinguished  for  the  only 
honest  effort  ever  made  by  the  church  to 
arrest  the  barbarous  treatment  of  the  Indians. 
In  1549  Antonio  de  Valdivieso,  third  bishop  of 

216 


Nicaragua,  attempted  to  exert  the  influence  of 
the  church  for  their  protection,  and  was  prompt- 
ly murdered  by  Hernando  de  Contreras,  who, 
conjointly  with  his  brother  Pedro,  was  then  gov- 
erning the  province.  After  that  the  ecclesiastics 
appear  to  have  attended  strictly  to  their 
masses,  but  it  is  some  comfort,  even  at  this 
distance  of  time,  to  recall  that  the  precious 
pair  of  tyrants  were  themselves  put  to  death 
shortly  afterward  for  rebellion  against  the 
crown.  The  chronicles  record  that  the  city  was 
visited  by  a  succession  of  calamities  after  the 
murder  of  the  bishop,  and  finally  in  1610  the  in- 
habitants abandoned  it  in  a  body  and  marched 
to  the  Indian  town  of  Subtiaba,  about  thirty 
miles  distant  upon  the  plain,  and  there  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  existing  city. 

Leon  is  the  largest  city  in  Nicaragua.  It 
claims  50,000  inhabitants,  and  judging  from  the 
extent  of  ground  it  covers,  as  well  as  the  way  in 
which  the  people  are  crowded  together,  fre- 
quently four  or  five  families  in  a  single  house, 
the  claim  seems  to  be  warranted.  It  is  sit- 
uated in  the  midst  of  the  elevated  plain  of  the 
same  name,  some  distance  north  of  the  head  of 

217 


Lake  Managua,  and  about  sixteen  miles  from 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  On  either  side  of  the  city  is 
a  ravine  about  100  feet  deep,  the  bed  of  a  mere 
rill  in  the  dry  season,  but  of  a  considerable 
stream  in  the  wet  season.  The  greater  part  of 
the  water  used  in  the  city  is  brought  by  agua- 
doras  from  these  ravines.  There  are  some 
wells,  but  the  great  depth  to  which  they  must 
be  sunk  in  order  to  reach  water  makes  them 
too  expensive  for  general  use.  I  saw  one  nearly 
200  feet  deep,  from  which  the  water  was  drawn 
by  a  rude  drum  turned  by  a  mule.  In  general, 
the  buildings  resemble  those  of  Granada,  but 
there  are  more  of  two  stories,  and  one  resi- 
dence which  attracted  my  attention  by  its 
Moorish  style  was  three  stories  in  height. 
On  its  southern  side  the  Spanish  built  gives 
place  to  the  Indian  built  city,  and  there  it  has 
the  open  and  umbrageous  aspects  of  Masaya. 
There  also  the  ground  surrounding  each  house 
is  fenced  in  by  a  hedge  of  pinuela,  a  plant  with 
prickly  leaves  closely  allied  to  the  pineapple. 

The  most  imposing  building  in  Leon  is  the 
cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  one  of  the  largest  edifices 
in  all  Spanish-America.  It  was  thirty-seven 

218 


years  in  building,  and  finished  in  1743.  It 
stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  grand  plaza  and 
covers  an  entire  block.  The  front  is  sur- 
mounted by  two  massive  square  towers,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  lofty,  arched  nave.  The  style 
is  composite  with  predominance  of  the  Moor- 
ish. It  is  built  of  large  blocks  of  stone, 
and  because  of  the  great  strength  of  its  walls 
and  roof,  which  last  is  composed  of  arches  of 
solid  masonry,  it  has  frequently  been  used  as  a 
fortress  by  one  or  the  other  of  the  warring 
parties  in  the  civil  wars  to  which  the  country 
was  subject  half  a  century  ago.  The  towers 
are  over  100  feet  high,  and  from  their  summits 
a  magnificent  view  is  to  be  had  of  the  surround- 
ing country.  On  the  east  side  of  the  plaza  are 
the  bishop's  palace  and  the  University  of  Leon, 
which  are  not  architecturally  remarkable;  on 
the  southern  side,  a  broad  two-story  building, 
which  was  formerly  the  government  house; 
and  on  the  western  side  a  similar  structure 
that  was  the  headquarters  of  the  army,  and  is 
even  now  used  as  the  barracks  of  the  garrison, 
for  there  is  a  garrison,  if  only  a  corporal's 
guard,  in  every  town.  There  are  fifteen  to 

219 


twenty  churches  in  the  city,  the  largest  of 
which  are  La  Merced,  the  Eecoleccion,  Calvario, 
and  San  Juan  de  Dios.  All  have  bells,  and  as  if 
there  were  a  provision  in  the  ritual  against 
sleeping  after  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  every 
bell  begins  to  ring  at  that  hour.  The  clatter 
which  ensues  is  continued  for  about  three  hours, 
and  though  it  may  be  the  sweetest  of  religious 
music  to  the  sheep  within  the  fold,  it  is  an  in- 
fernal nuisance  to  the  stranger  within  the  gates. 

There  are  some  large  and  well  stocked-stores 
in  the  city,  and  it  seems  to  have  a  large  trade 
both  in  foreign  and  domestic  manufactures. 
The  Pacific  Mail  steamers  plying  up  and  down 
the  Pacific  Coast  touch  at  Corinto  and  afford 
regular  and  speedy  communication  with  San 
Francisco,  so  that  there  is  considerable  trade  be- 
tween the  two  cities.  There  are  several  hotels 
in  Leon,  but  they  are  more  in  the  nature  of 
drinking  and  eating-houses  than  places  for  the 
accommodation  of  travelers. 

The  railroad  from  Momotombo  to  Corinto  is 
sixty -four  miles  long,  though  the  distance  be- 
tween the  two  places  on  a  straight  line  is  much 
less.  Leon  is  about  halfway  by  the  railroad, 

220 


m 


which  passes  through  several  towns  west  of  that 
city,  the  most  important  of  which  is  Chinan- 
dega.  Chinandega  is  a  place  of  12,000  inhabit- 
ants. Except  its  central  part,  which  is  built 
like  Granada,  it  is  an  Indian  city  like  Masaya. 
Before  the  railroad  was  built  it  had  a  much 
larger  foreign  commerce  than  Leon,  and  was 
probably  the  most  thriving  city  in  the  country; 
but  now  Leon  and  Managua  have  come  in  for  a 
share  of  the  trade  of  which  it  at  one  time  had 
a  practical  monopoly.  Corinto,  a  place  of 
about  1,200  inhabitants,  is  built  on  a  sandy 
point  near  the  entrance  to  the  port  of  Realejo, 
and  is  a  mere  receiving  and  forwarding  station. 
The  port,  which  is  a  bay  protected  by  an  island 
in  its  mouth,  is  a  deep,  safe,  and  commodious 
haven. 

San  Juan  del  Sur,  the  other  Pacific  port, 
about  150  miles  further  south,  is  much  smaller 
and  less  protected.  It  is  a  beautiful,  almost 
circular,  bay  with  a  narrow  entrance  between 
two  giant  promontories.  The  town  contains  per- 
haps 1,000  inhabitants,  but  is  a  mere  collection 
of  wooden  shanties.  It  derives  some  import- 
ance, however,  from  being  a  station  of  the  Cen- 

223 


tral  and  South  American  cable,  and  the  fact 
that  a  Pacific  Mail  steamer  touches  there  twice 
a  month.  The  foreign  trade  of  Rivas,  which  is 
not  very  large,  is  done  through  San  Juan  del 
Sur.  Rivas  is  situated  upon  a  plain  less  than 
fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  Lake  Nicaragua.  It 
is  almost  due  west  of  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  island  of  Ometepec  and  Medeira,  about 
three  and  a  half  miles  from  the  lake  and  twelve 
from  the  Pacific.  The  distance  to  San  Juan  del 
Sur,  which  is  to  the  south,  is  about  seventeen 
miles,  and  goods  are  transported  between  the 
two  places  entirely  by  carettas,fora  part  of  the 
distance  over  wretched  roads.  The  population 
of  Rivas  is  estimated  at  8,000,  but  the  city  is 
situated  in  the  heart  of  the  most  densely  popu- 
lated rural  district  in  Nicaragua,  and  it  has  be- 
sides several  large  Indian  towns  in  its  imme- 
diate neighborhood.  Although  the  old  chroni- 
clers do  not  speak  with  particularity  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  Rivas,  or  Nicaragua  as  it  was  then 
called,  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  there  is  a 
local  tradition  that  it  once  contained  about 
1,000,000  inhabitants.  The  tradition,  however, 
may  refer  to  the  district  instead  of  the  city 

224 


proper,  as  it  does  not  seem  likely  that  a  city  so 
large  could  have~escaped  specific  mention  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  Spaniards,  especially  after 
what  we  have  seen  they  said  about  Managua. 
They  distinctly  state,  however,  that  the  coun- 
try round  about  was  densely  populated,  and 
existing  conditions  indicate  that  it  must  have 
been.  No  part  of  the  Pacific  coast  of  Nicara- 
gua suffers  so  little  from  drought  as  this,  and 
consequently,  the  soil  is  even  more  productive 
than  that  of  other  localities.  There  are  many 
fine  cacao  plantations  throughout  the  district, 
and  the  cacao  produced  there  is  regarded  as  the 
best  raised  in  the  country. 

Architecturally  Kivas  presents  nothing  of 
note.  Like  Chinandega  it  combines  the  Span- 
ish and  Indian  types  of  building.  Some  of  the 
most  influential  families  of  the  country  reside 
there,  and  it  has  the  distinction  of  having  fur- 
nished several  of  the  presidents  of  the  re- 
public. It  also  has  one  sign  of  progress  pos- 
sessed by  no  other  city  in  the  country  except 
Grey  town — a  horse  railroad,  which  connects  it 
with  San  Jorge,  its  port  on  the  lake,  three  and 
a  half  miles  away.  San  Jorge  is  a  thoroughly 


Indian  town  in  everything,  except  its  storehouse 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  its  fine  wooden 
pier,  which  extends  several  hundred  feet  into 
deep  water. 

The  towns  east  of  the  lakes  are  mostly 
Indian  in  character,  as  the  Spanish  influ- 
ence, except  in  the  matter  of  religion,  was 
less  vigorously  exerted  there  than  in  the  coun- 
try west  of  the  lakes.  The  largest  of  them  is 
Matagalpa,  which  contains  about  10, 000  inhabit- 
ants. Libertad,  a  place  of  5,000  inhabitants, 
is  the  principal  mining  center  of  Chontales,  and 
indeed  of  Nicaragua.  There  are  many  gold  and 
silver  mines  in  the  neighborhood,  worked 
chiefly  by  Englishmen  and  Frenchmen,  and 
some  of  them  have  been  very  productive.  Santo 
Domingo,  with  less  than  1,000  inhabitants, 
about  fifteen  miles  east  of  Libertad,  is  a  dis- 
tinctively mining  town,  and  the  only  place  of 
the  kind  in  Nicaragua. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   PEOPLE. 

THE  French  enjoy  the  reputation  of  being  the 
most  polite  people,  but  they  are  not  more  polite 
than  the  Nicaraguans.  The  speech  of  the  com- 
mon people  abounds  with  compliments,  invari- 
ably so  neatly  turned  as  to  leave  no  room  for 
doubt  that  they  are  the  voice  of  nature  and  not 
of  art.  The  peasant  encountered  on  the  road 
greets  you  with  a  pleasant  salutation,  while 
should  you  enter  a  house  of  high  or  low  degree 
the  owner  thereof,  in  the  customary  phraseology 
of  the  country,  at  once  proceeds  to  place  it  and 
everything  pertaining  to  it  at  your  disposal. 
And  this  is  not  mere  affectation  on  the  part  of 
your  host;  it  is  the  spontaneous  expression  of  a 
nature  both  kindly  and  hospitable.  In  truth, 
the  Nicaraguans  are  an  urbane  and  amiable  peo- 
ple. On  the  whole  I  was  much  more  favorably 
impressed  with  the  Indians  and  ladinos,  or  mes- 

227 


tizos  (mixed  whites  and  Indians),  than  with  the 
people  of  unalloyed  Spanish  descent.  While, 
of  course  there  are  many  admirable  exceptions, 
the  latter,  as  a  rule,  are  much  less  industrious 
and  amiable  than  the  former. 

But  it  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  conquer- 
ing and  conquered  peoples  have  mutually  in- 
fluenced each  other.  The  Spaniards,  as  their 
history  conclusively  proves,  are  naturally  a 
cruel  people,  though  courteous  in  manner  and 
much  given  to  polite  forms  of  speech.  The  Indi- 
ans, on  the  other  hand,  were  pacific  and  kindly 
when  the  Spaniards  found  them.  Now  the  Span- 
iards have  thoroughly  imbued  the  Indians  with 
their  good  manners  and  flowery  forms  of  speech, 
while  the  Indians  have  succeeded  in  softening 
and  mellowing  the  Spanish  nature.  And  yet  it 
is  impossible  to  recall  the  atrocities  to  which 
the  Indians  were  for  generations  subjected  with- 
out marveling  that  they  did  not  imbibe  the 
cruelty  instead  of  the  better  qualities  of  their 
conquerors.  That  is  a  fact  which  must  forever 
shed  luster  on  the  Indian  name.  It  will  not  be 
forgotten  either  that  the  immanent  dignity  of 
the  Indian  saved  him  from  becoming  a  slave. 

228 


After  the  Spaniards  had  conquered  the  country 
they  attempted  to  enslave  the  Indians,  but  the 
latter,  though  unresisting,  could  not  live  in 
bondage.  They  pined  and  died  so  rapidly  that 
the  country  was  in  a  short  time  almost  depopu- 
lated, and  the  conqueror,  appalled  at  the  result, 
abandoned  the  experiment  for  very  shame. 

Another  fact  that  reflects  credit  on  the  Indian 
character  is  the  inefficacy  of  centuries  of  ill- 
usage  to  make  him  morose  and  revengeful. 
Familiarity  with  his  history  since  the  conquest, 
leads  the  visitor  to  expect  of  him  a  sullen  and 
inimical  disposition  toward  the  white  man,  and 
so  it  is  with  no  little  surprise  that  you  find  him 
a  genial  and  thoroughly  good-natured  fellow. 
He  is,  moreover,  a  jo  vial  fellow;  song  and  laugh- 
ter are  his  constant  companions.  Wherever  the 
washerwomen  and  aguadoras  congregate ;  upon 
the  beach  at  Granada;  on  the  margin  of  the 
lake  at  Masaya;  around  the  lakelets  at  Mana- 
gua; in  the  ravines  at  Leon,  there  is  incessant 
talking  and  laughing,  not  by  a  good  deal  con- 
fined to  the  women.  In  the  market  places,  at 
the  railroad  stations,  indeed  at  all  public  gather- 
ings, where  silence  is  not  required,  the  same 

229 


i'act  is  noticeable.  In  addition  to  their  love  of 
fun,  their  sense  of  humor  is  extraordinarily 
keen.  Quick  to  see  the  ludicrous,  they  never 
miss  a  joke,  and  the  slightest  suggestion  of  the 
ridiculous  throws  them  into  convulsions  of 
laughter.  A  monocle,  worn  by  an  Englishman 
in  our  party  was  everywhere  an  object  of  the 
closest  scrutiny  that  never  failed  after  the 
lapse  of  a  few  moments  to  excite  the  most  ex- 
travagant merriment.  A  consequence  of  this 
mental  trait  is  that  everybody  is  nicknamed  for 
some  personal  peculiarity,  and  some  of  the 
nicknames  are  extremely  clever.  Another  con- 
sequence is  the  ready  coining  of  general  terms 
designating  persons  according  to  their  occupa- 
tions: thus  caretteros,  men  who  drive  carettas. 
All  of  the  men  connected  with  the  canal  are 
called  canalleros.  When  the  first  engineering 
party  established  its  headquarters  at  Kivas,  it 
included  only  one  woman,  the  wife  of  the 
officer  in  charge,  and  a  short  time  after  her 
arrival  she  received  a  letter  through  the  post 
office  with  no  other  address  than  La  Canallera; 
literally,  the  woman  of  the  canal.  The  humor- 
ous characteristic  is  confined  almost  exclusively 

230 


to  the  Indians  and  half-breeds.  The  whites 
have  scarcely  a  trace  of  it.  Like  their  darker 
brethren,  however,  their  wit  is  ready  and  pun- 
gent, though  not  often  delicate.  A  few  years 
ago  one  of  their  prominent  politicians,  sent  as 
minister  to  France,  was  for  some  service  to  that 
country  decorated  with  the  Iron  Cross.  When 
one  of  his  political  opponents  heard  of  his  dis- 
tinction, he  remarked:  "The  order  of  things  is 
changed.  In  old  times  they  used  to  hang 
thieves  on  crosses.  Now  they  hang  crosses  on 
thieves." 

I  have  spoken  elsewhere  of  the  honesty  of  the 
boatmen  and  packmen  who  carry  specie  and 
merchandise  from  the  interior  to  the  eastern 
coast.  The  caretteros  of  the  Pacific  slope  are 
equally  trustworthy.  Indeed  the  honesty  of  the 
whole  people  is  remarkable.  I  was  told  that 
robberies  are  of  the  rarest  occurrence,  and  the 
manner  in  which  the  people  live  affords  abun- 
dant confirmation  of  the  statement.  Locks  and 
keys,  bolts  and  bars  are  but  little  used.  It  is  a 
common  thing  for  shopkeepers  to  let  customers 
wait  on  themselves.  While  in  Rivas,  I  stayed 
at  the  house  of  a  widow  who  sold  tobacco  and 

231 


cigarettes.  The  cigarettes  were  kept  in  a  jar 
upon  a  table  in  one  corner  of  the  sala,  and  upon 
the  same  table  was  a  cup  in  which  the  money 
received  for  the  cigarettes  was  left  during  the 
*day.  The  door  of  the  sala  was  always  open 
and  there  was  seldom  any  one  in  the  room  to 
look  after  the  sales.  Passersby  who  wanted 
cigarettes  helped  themselves,  put  the  price  of 
their  purchase  in  the  cup,  making  change  when 
necessary,  and  went  their  way.  The  old  lady, 
who  was  a  stately  dame  and  almost  a  full- 
blooded  Indian,  had  not  the  slightest  fear  of 
robbery,  even  by  the  beggars  that  came  to  her 
door.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  too,  that  the  beg- 
gars never  went  away  empty-handed.  Concern- 
ing these  beggars,  by  the  way,  there  is  a  queer 
custom  in  the  country.  On  one  or  two  speci- 
fied days  in  the  week  they  are  permitted  to  go 
from  house  to  house  soliciting  alms,  but  they 
are  liable  to  arrest  for  begging  on  other  days. 
However,  I  saw  very  few  beggars  anywhere. 

In  personal  appearance  there  are  marked 
differences  between  the  two  races.  The  color 
of  the  Indian  is  that  of  the  Chinese,  warmed  by 
a  touch  of  red.  The  features,  however,  are  very 

232 


INDIAN    GIRL    CARRYING    WATER-JAR 


different.  The  eyes  are  horizontal  and  the  nose 
aquiline.  Except  for  a  slight  mustache,  the 
men  are  beardless.  The  hair  is  jet  black,  and 
is  worn  by  the  men  cropped  short  at  the  neck ; 
by  the  younger  women  in  two  long  plaits  down 
the  back,  and  reaching  generally  below  the 
waist.  The  ordinary  dress  of  the  women  is  a 
skirt  of  dark  cotton  material,  reaching  to  the 
ankles,  and  a  loose  blouse-like  waist,  cut  low 
in  the  neck,  without  sleeves,  but  with  narrow 
straps  over  the  shoulders.  The  arms  and  much 
of  the  bust  are  consequently  exposed.  The 
holiday  costume  is  made  in  the  same  style,  with 
the  addition  of  a  short  sleeve,  ruffled,  or 
trimmed  with  some  sort  of  lace,  but  the 
material  of  the  waist  is  finer  and  the  skirt  is  of 
figured  cotton  or  silk.  Thrown  over  the  shoul- 
ders is  a  silk  scarf  of  bright  color,  generally 
purple  or  scarlet.  The  women  never  wear  hats, 
and  nine-tenths  of  them  go  barefooted  on  all 
occasions.  They  are  extremely  fond,  however, 
of  wearing  flowers  in  their  hair.  The  favorite 
flowers  for  this  purpose  are  red,  scarlet,  or  the 
more  brilliant  shades  of  pink.  They  are  worn 
in  sprays,  or  wreaths,  and  frequently  entwined 

235 


in  the  plaits  at  the  back.  The  ordinary  dress 
of  the  men  is  a  white  cotton  shirt,  often  worn 
outside  of  the  trousers,  and  trousers  of  coarse 
brown,  or  bluish,  cotton  cloth,  that  reach  only 
a  short  distance  below  the  knee.  Men  engaged 
in  hard  physical  labor  seldom  wear  any- 
thing but  the  short  trousers.  The  men,  like  the 
women,  generally  dispense  with  the  use  of  hats, 
and  as  a  rule  they  also  go  barefooted.  On 
special  occasions  their  dress  approaches  nearer 
to  the  civilized  standard. 

The  men  are  strong,  capable  of  great  endur- 
ance and  often  fine  looking.  The  women,  be- 
tween the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty-five  are 
possessed  of  admirable  figures  and  are  fre- 
quently extremely  attractive  in  face.  They  be- 
gin to  bear  children  even  before  they  reach  the 
age  of  fifteen,  usually  bear  a  great  many,  and 
lose  their  good  looks  before  they  are  thirty. 
One  of  the  results  of  the  long  Spanish  domina- 
tion is  that  so  far  as  the  Indians  and  half-breeds 
are  concerned,  the  marriage  rite  is  regarded  as 
much  less  essential  than  the  baptismal. 

In  speaking  of  the  white  women  I  cannot  do 
better  than  begin  with  the  following  quotation 

236 


from  Squier:  "The  women  of  pure  Spanish 
stock  are  very  fair,  and  have  the  embonpoint 
which  characterizes  the  sex  under  the  tropics. 
Add  the  superior  attractions  of  an  oval  face, 
regular  features,  large  and  lustrous  black  eyes, 
small  mouth,  pearly  white  teeth,  and  tiny  hands 
and  feet,  and  withal  a  low  but  clear  voice,  and  the 
reader  has  a  picture  of  the  Central  American 
lady  of  pure  stock.  Very  many  of  the  women 
have,  however,  an  infusion  of  other  families 
and  races,  from  the  Saracen  to  the  Indian  and 
the  negro,  in  every  degree  of  intermixture. 
And  as  tastes  differ,  so  may  opinions  as  to 
whether  the  tinge  of  brown,  through  which  the 
blood  glows  with  a  peach-like  bloom,  in  the 
complexion  of  the  girl  who  may  trace  her  line- 
age to  the  caciques  upon  one  side,  and  the 
haughty  grandees  of  Andalusia  and  Seville  on 
the  other,  superadded,  as  it  usually  is,  to  a 
greater  lightness  of  figure  and  animation  of 
face — whether  this  is  not  a  more  real  beauty 
than  that  of  the  fair  and  more  languid  senora, 
whose  white  and  almost  transparent  skin  be- 
speaks a  purer  ancestry.  Nor  is  the  Indian 
girl,  with  her  full,  lithe  figure,  long,  glossy 

237 


hair,  quick  and  mischievous  eyes,  who  walks 
erect  as  a  grenadier  beneath  her  heavy  water 
jar,  and  salutes  you  in  a  musical,  impudent  voice 
as  you  pass — nor  is  the  Indian  girl  to  be  over- 
looked in  the  novel  contrasts  which  the  'bello 
sexo'  affords  in  this  glorious  land  of  the  sun." 

The  white  women,  and  indeed  all  the  women 
who  have  much  white  blood  in  their  veins, 
dress  very  differently  from  the  Indians.  The 
waists  are  made  with  high  neck  and  long 
sleeves  and  the  skirts  so  long  as  to  reveal  only 
an  occasional  glimpse  Of  the  feet.  These 
women  never  go  barefooted,  but  they  prefer 
colored  satin  slippers  to  shoes.  They  seldom 
go  on  the  streets  until  late  in  the  afternoon,  and 
then  generally  in  parties  of  three  or  more. 
Like  the  Indian  and  half-breed  women,  they  do 
not  wear  hats,  but  they  are  rarely  seen  abroad 
without  a  black  lace  shawl  or  something  similar 
thrown  over  the  head.  I  saw  very  few  really 
pretty  women  among  the  pure  whites.  Al- 
though as  a  rule  possessed  of  dainty  and  well- 
shaped  features,  their  faces  lack  that  important 
element  of  beauty,  color.  It  is  much  more 
common  to  see  a  handsome  white  man.  The 

238 


men  are  careful,  even  fastidious,  in  their  dress. 
Pongees  and  white  and  colored  linen  are  the 
favorite  materials. 

Manners  are  simple  yet  constrained,  so  far  as 
the  relations  of  the  sexes  are  concerned.  In 
the  salas  the  chairs  are  ranged  along  opposite 
walls,  and  when  visitors  are  received  the  men  sit 
in  one  row  and  the  women  in  the  other.  There 
is  a  tradition  to  the  effect  that  the  senoritas 
were  wont  to  sit  within  the  balconied  and  gra- 
ted windows  and  converse  with  their  admirers, 
who  stood  without,  but  I  saw  nothing  to  con- 
firm it.  On  the  contrary,  the  sala,  or  the  ve- 
randa in  front  of  it,  seemed  to  be  the  favorite 
place  for  conversation.  Even  the  wealthiest 
families  live  plainly.  Compared  with  our 
northern  homes,  the  houses  are  very  poorly 
furnished.  The  best  furnished  salas  contain 
little  besides  a  few  cane-seated  chairs,  except  a 
small  table,  and  are  almost  bare  of  ornaments. 
The  sleeping  apartments  are  also  destitute  of 
many  articles  of  furniture  deemed  indispensa- 
ble in  any  moderately  appointed  dwelling  in  the 
United  States.  The  rooms  being  few  in  num- 
ber even  in  the  most  luxurious  homes,  several 

239 


persons  are  of  necessity  forced  to  sleep  in  each, 
as  the  families  are  generally  large.  It  follows 
that  the  home  arrangements  are  sadly  deficient 
in  privacy.  Meals  are  served,  in  almost  every 
household,  on  the  side  of  the  interior  veranda 
least  exposed  to  the  sun.  Coffee  is  served  im- 
mediately after  rising,  and  as  everybody  rises 
early  the  time  for  it  is  between  five  and  seven 
o'clock.  Its  only  accompaniment  is  bread  or 
crackers  and  butter.  Breakfast,  a  substantial 
meal,  follows  between  10  o'clock  and  noon, 
"while  the  time  for  dinner  is  between  4  and  6 
P.M.  The  usual  bill  of  fare  in  the  homes  of  the 
whites  includes  a  variety  of  fruits,  frijoles  (red 
beans)  boiled  with  or  without  rice,  rice,  a  salad 
of  some  sort,  generally  of  the  alligator  pear, 
poultry,  beef  or  some  other  kind  of  meat.  The 
frijole  resembles  in  taste  the  cow -pea,  common 
in  the  Southern  part  of  the  United  States. 
Plantain  fritters  are  a  very  popular  and  palata- 
ble dish.  The  alligator  pear  makes  one  of  the 
finest  salads  ever  tasted.  It  is  about  the  size  and 
shape  of  a  large  pear  and  consists  of  a  thick  coat 
of  pulp  on  a  large,  hard  nut.  The  pulp,  which 
separates  readily  from  the  nut,  is  a  rich  yellow, 

240 


covered  by  a  thin  green  skin.  It  is  sliced  into 
chips  and  dressed  with  hard-boiled  egg,  oil, 
vinegar,  etc.  The  name,  which  is  absurdly  in- 
appropriate, is  of  queer  origin.  The  fruit  is 
borne  by  the  Persea  gratissima,  which  the  Az- 
tecs called  ahuacatl.  The  Spaniards,  in  trying 
to  pronounce  the  Aztec  name,  made  it  "avo- 
cado," and  later  still  the  American  and  Eng- 
lish sailors  converted  avocado  into  alligator, 
the  name  by  which  the  fruit  is  now  known  to 
commerce. 

The  Indian  bill  of  fare  is  much  less  varied 
than  that  of  their  white  fellow  citizens. 
Frijoles,  rice,  and  fried  plantains  are  their 
staple  dishes.  Their  favorite  bread  is  the  tor- 
tilla, or  corn  cake,  which  they  make  to-day  ex- 
actly as  their  forefathers  made  it  before  the 
conquest.  The  corn  is  boiled  in  water  contain- 
ing a  slight  infusion  of  ashes  or  lime  to  loosen 
the  husk,  which  is  then  washed  off  by  rubbing 
the  grains  between  the  hands  in  running  water. 
After  the  husk  has  been  removed  the  grain  is 
placed  upon  a  flat,  slightly  concave  stone,  called 
metlate,  after  the  Aztec  metlatt,  and  crushed  by 
passing  over  it  another  stone,  like  a  rolling  pin. 

Q  241 


A  fine  flour  is  thus  produced,  and  this,  after 
mixing  with  water  and  a  little  cheese,  is  made 
into  cakes  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  and 
ten  inches  in  diameter,  which  are  baked  in  an 
earthenware  pan.  The  tortilla  (pronounced  tor- 
te-lia)  is  light,  nutritious  and  not  unpalatable. 
The  Aztecs  were  accustomed  to  bury  household 
implements  with  their  dead,  and  metlates  of 
the  same  pattern  as  those  in  use  at  the  present 
time  are  found  in  graves,  perhaps  thousands  of 
years  old.  The  larger  part  of  the  drinking 
vess.els,  wash-bowls,  etc.,  of  the  Indians  are 
made  of  the  shell  of  the  jicara  nut.  Jicara 
(pronounced  hickory),  which  is  the  Spanish 
corruption  of  the  Aztec  xicalli,  means  choco- 
late cup,  and  i-s  the  analogue  of  the  Italian  chic- 
chera,  a  teacup.  The  tree  which  bears  the  nut 
grows  wild  on  barren  plains  called  jicarals, 
from  its  presence,  equidistant  from  each  other, 
as  if  carefully  planted.  It  attains  the  height  of 
an  ordinary  apple  tree,  and  the  fruit,  which  is 
attached  to  the  trunk  and  branches  by  a  short 
stem,  varies  in  size  and  shape  from  a  hen's  egg 
to  a  large  pumpkin.  The  larger  fruit  is  secured 
by  cultivation.  The  shell  is  thin  but  very  hard 

242 


and  tough,  and  is  filled  with  seeds,  which  when 
bruised  make  a  cooling  drink,  and  are  fed  to 
fowls,  and  in  dry  seasons  to  horses  and  cattle. 
Except  the  largest  specimens  the  vessels  made 
from  the  jicara  nut  will  not,  because  of  their 
shape,  stand  alone,  and  socketed  pedestals  of 
wood  or  stone  are  made  to  hold  them.  The 
cups  are  often  elaborately  and  beautifully 
carved  on  the  exterior  surface.  The  jicara  nut 
supplied  the  form  of  the  ancient  Indian  pottery, 
and  the  same  pattern  is  still  followed.  Coffee 
is  taken  at  each  meal,  and  chocolate  or  tiste  fre- 
quently between  meals.  Tobacco  smoking  is 
common  to  all  classes  and  both  sexes,  but  while 
the  white  women  generally  smoke  cigarettes, 
the  Indian  and  half-breed  have  a  decided  pref- 
erence for  the  cigar.  Pipe  smoking  is  rare. 

Public  amusements  are  few  and  infrequent. 
Formerly  religious  festivals  furnished  the  chief 
popular  diversions,  but  the  church  has  lost  its 
hold  on  the  people,  and  the  festivals  have  cor- 
respondingly decreased.  Squier,  at  the  time  of 
his  visit,  1850,  found  that  there  was  a  festival 
for  almost  everyday  in  the  week;  now,  how- 
ever, days  and  even  weeks  elapse  without  the 

243 


public  observance  of  any  festival  whatever. 
Even  the  celebration  of  the  Passion  Play  in 
Easter  week  has  degenerated  into  a  broad  bur- 
lesque. True,  the  priests  still  possess  consider- 
able influence  over  the  women,  but  the  majority 
of  them  live  in  more  or  less  open  concubinage, 
and  are  generally  held  in  undisguised  contempt 
by  the  men.  The  favorite  amusement  with  the 
men  is  cock-fighting,  and  the  principal  day  for 
holding  mains  is  Sunday.  I  was  told  that  more 
than  one  priest  was  in  the  habit  of  shortening 
high  mass  and  hurrying  off,  with  a  cock  under 
each  arm,  to  the  nearest  pit.  Usually  the  fights 
are  held  in  the  open  street,  before  some  drink- 
ing saloon,  and  all  of  the  spectators  who  are 
able  wager  small  sums  of  money  on  the  result. 
Apart  from  the  cock-fights  I  did  not  see  any 
public  gambling  on  the  Pacific  coast,  but  it  is 
said  that  a  good  deal  of  card  playing  for  money 
is  done  in  private  houses.  Gambling,  except  at 
Greytown,  is  illegal,  and  so  there  are  no  houses 
where  it  is  publicly  carried  on.  Occasionally  a 
theatrical  or  operatic  company  visits  the  coun- 
try, and  their  performances  are  always  well 
attended,  for  the  people  are  fond  of  music  and 


the  drama.  There  was  a  company  of  Spanish 
players  at  Granada  while  I  was  there,  and  their 
acting  struck  me  as  above  the  average  of 
strollers. 

The  Indians  in  their  own  communities  still 
observe  some  of  their  ancient  festivals,  which,  if 
we  may  credit  one  of  the  old  chroniclers,  fur- 
nished occasions  for  getting  drunk  on  chicha,  a 
drink  made  from  fermented  corn  and  sugar.  I 
did  not  have  an  opportunity  to  witness  an 
Indian  festival,  so  cannot  say  that  it  is  not  an 
occasion  for  drunkenness,  but  as  I  have  said 
elsewhere  sobriety  is  a  noticeable  trait  of  the 
Indian  in  his  everyday  life.  Mr.  Belt  mentions 
a  singular  sort  of  harvest  festival  held  by  the 
Indians  at  a  town  in  Segovia,  called  Condego, 
on  May  15th,  and  I  will  give  his  description  of  it: 
"For  some  weeks  before  this  date,  they  catch 
all  the  wild  beasts  and  birds  they  can,  and  keep 
them  alive.  During  the  night  preceding  the 
feast  day  they  plant  the  plaza  in  front  of  the 
church  with  full-grown  plants  of  maize,  rice, 
beans,  and  all  the  other  vegetables  that  they 
cultivate;  and  among  them  they  fasten  the  wild 
beasts  and  birds  that  have  been  collected;  so 

247 


that  the  sun  that  set  on  a  bare,  weedy  plaza 
rises  on  one  full  of  vegetable  and  animal  life." 

He  mentions  in  the  same  connection  that  the 
great  attraction  at  the  festival  the  year  before 
his  visit  was  a  young  jaguar,  which  had  grown 
so  large  the  people  wrere  afraid  of  and  at  a  loss 
what  to  do  with  it,  yet  instead  of  killing  they 
kept  it  in  a  house  with  a  dog  which  had  caught 
it  and  to  which  it  was  greatly  attached.  This 
treatment  of  the  jaguar  illustrates  a  conspic- 
uous trait  of  the  Indian  character,  his  fond- 
ness for  animals.  There  is  not  an  Indian  house- 
hold without  from  one  to  half  a  dozen  pets, 
either  of  birds  or  animals  or  both.  One  of  their 
pets  has  been  eagerly  adopted  by  the  whites. 
It  is  called  the  hour-bird,  from  the  fact  that  it 
utters  a  harsh,  peculiar  cry  once  every  hour.  It 
is  a  large  wader  of  the  rail  family,  and  is  a  very 
good  bird  to  have  about  the  house,  because  he 
is  extremely  fond  of  mice,  cockroaches,  scor- 
pions, etc.,  exceedingly  expert  in  catching 
them,  and  also  because  the  entrance  of  a 
stranger  into  the  premises  during  the  night  time 
will  make  him  rouse  the  entire  neighborhood. 
An  old  Indian  custom  is  perpetuated  too  in  the 

248 


paseo  al  mar,  or  migration  to  the  sea,  which 
takes  place  early  in  March  toward  the  close  of 
the  dry  season.  The  Indians  went  to  catch  fish 
and  gather  a  peculiar  shell  from  which  they 
made  a  purple  dye  rivaling  the  lost  Tyrian 
purple,  but  the  whites  go  now  to  escape  the 
hot,  dusty  weather  of  the  plains.  It  lasts  from 
six  to  eight  weeks,  and  for  the  people  of  Leon 
is  a  regular  camping-out  expedition,  while  those 
of  Rivas  have  a  primitive  seaside  resort  in  San 
Juan  del  Sur.  When  our  party  arrived  there, 
about  the  end  of  April,  the  season  was  prac- 
tically over,  but  there  were  still  more  sojourn- 
ers  in  the  place  than  the  buildings  could  accom- 
modate, and  some  of  us  were  forced  in  conse- 
quence to  sleep  upon  the  floor  of  a  storehouse 
with  a  piece  of  matting  for  a  mattress. 

I  have  already  intimated  that  accommoda- 
tions for  travelers  are  very  poor.  The  prevail- 
ing idea  of  hotel-keeping  seems  to  be  to  furnish 
the  stranger  within  the  gates  food  and  shelter. 
Such  trivial  matters  as  privacy  and  comfort 
have  never  been  thought  of.  The  buildings  are 
great,  barn-like  structures  with  few  rooms,  into 
which  guests  are  crowded  to  sleep  without  re- 

249 


gard  to  race,  condition,  or  previous  acquaint- 
ance. There  are  never  less  than  three  beds  in  a 
room,  and  as  a  rule  more  than  half  a  dozen,  and 
the  fact  that  one  bed  is  taken  does  not  deter 
mine  host,  for  a  moment,  from  filling  all  the 
others  without  consulting  the  wishes  of  the 
first  comer.  In  short,  if  the  visitor  is  fastidi- 
ous enough  to  require  a  room  to  himself  he  is, 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  confronted  with  the 
necessity  of  renting  at  least  a  fourth  of  the 
hotel.  And  then  the  beds!  Ldp  not  believe 
there  is  a  decent  bed  in  all  Nicaragua,  unless  it 
has  been  carried  there  by  some  person  from  the 
United  States  or  Europe,  for  his  own  use. 
Plain  cots,  generally  of  cotton  canvas,  but  nob 
infrequently  of  rawhide  and  harder  than  stone, 
are  the  best  that  the  traveler  can  expect. 

Traveling,  except  on  the  line  of  the  railway,  is 
usually  done  on  horse  or  mule-back,  but  it  is 
not  at  all  uncommon  to  see  a  family  party 
journeying  in  a  hide-covered  caretta.  Indeed, 
this  remarkable  family  carriage  is  frequently 
seen  at  the  smaller  railway  stations.  It  is  a 
rough,  strong  cart-frame,  set  on  two  broad 
wooden  wheels  about  four  feet  in  diameter, 

250 


covered  with  hide  stretched  over  hoops,  and 
drawn  by  two  oxen  yoked  by  the  horns  instead 
of  the  necks.  While  watching  several  half- 
breed  women  stowing  themselves  away  in  one 
of  these  vehicles  at  a  station  near  Leon,  a  mem- 
ber of  our  party  asked  an  Indian,  who  sat  near 
him  in  the  car,  how  fast  such  a  caretta  could 
travel.  The  Indian  replied  without  hesitation: 
"Three  miles  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour."  As  a 
matter  of  fact  the  best  time  it  can  make  is 
about  three  miles  an  hour.  The  incident 
though  trivial,  serves  to  illustrate  a  peculiarity 
of  the  Nicaraguan  character.  The  Indian  is  very 
careful  to  conceal  his  ignorance,  and  his  ready 
wit  often  tempts  him,  if  he  be  not  possessed  of 
the  information  sought,  to  give  a  misleading 
answer  as  a  good  joke.  On  another  occasion  the 
same  gentleman,  having  asked  how  the  large 
blocks  of  tufa,  for  building  purposes,  were  pro- 
cured, was  informed  that  the  Indians  made 
them.  But  to  return  to  the  caretta;  it  is  used 
altogether  for  the  transportation  of  merchan- 
dise between  places  not  connected  by  water  or 
railroad.  The  freight  caretta  is  generally  un- 
covered, is  drawn  by  four  oxen,  and  attended  by 

251 


three  men,  one  of  whom  walks  ahead  of  the 
oxen,  which  follow  him  at  every  turn;  another 
sits  upon  the  cart  with  a  long  pole  armed  at  the 
further  end  with  an  iron  spike  or  a  bit  of 
pointed  horn  for  prodding  the  oxen;  the  third 
man  walks  behind  the  cart.  These  men  are  the 
caretteros  already  referred  to. 

At  all  of  the  towns  along  the  Pacific  coast 
there  is  considerable  trade  in  foreign  commodi- 
ties, but  in  consequence  of  the  heavy  duties 
levied  by  the  government  on  imports,  the  prices 
of  these  articles  are  everywhere  much  higher 
than  at  Greytown.  The  duties  are  higher  on 
luxuries  than  on  necessities  and  the  latter  are 
correspondingly  cheaper.  Liquors  imported  in 
glass  pay  duty  on  the  weight.  A  bottle  of 
whisky,  for  example,  pays  ninety  cents  duty. 
The  duty  on  beer,  which  is  imported  only  in 
glass,  is  somewhat  less,  but  high  enough  to 
make  the  selling  price  absurd.  It  is  much 
liked  by  the  people  and  they  use  a  good  deal  of 
it,  notwithstandng  that  they  have  to  pay  from 
thirty  to  fifty  cents  for  a  pint  bottle.  There 
are  no  breweries  in  the  country,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  beer  used  is  imported  from  the 

252 


United  States,  though  some  is  also  procured 
from  Germany.  There  is  an  unmistakable  de- 
mand for  United  States  products,  but  much 
complaint  of  the  methods  of  our  manufacturers. 
Besides  being  accused  of  sometimes  palming  off 
old  stock  on  buyers  for  that  market,  it  is  said 
they  take  no  pains  to  suit  the  tastes  of  the 
people,  or  to  protect  the  goods  against  risks 
peculiar  to  the  climate.  A  merchant  of  Rivas 
told  me  that  he  preferred  American  biscuits, 
but  stale  or  burnt  stock  has  sometimes  been 
sent  him,  and  when  the  stock  was  good  the 
cans  were  imperfect,  so  that  insects  finding 
their  way  through  small  apertures  in  the  latter 
destroyed  the  contents.  The  English  manu- 
facturers, on  the  other  hand,  he  said,  are  care- 
ful to  protect  their  customers  in  all  of  these 
particulars.  One  article  from  the  United 
States,  however,  gives  universal  satisfaction. 
That  is  the  sewing  machine.  One  is  to  be  found 
in  almost  every  home,  and  it  is  said  to  have  be- 
come a  custom  of  the  country  for  a  newly 
married  man  to  present  his  bride  with  a  sewing 
machine  before  they  go  to  housekeeping. 
A  good  deal  of  California  wine  is  sold  in  the 

253 


country,  and  the  demand  seems  to  be  growing. 
The  sweet  wines  are  generally  in  greater  de- 
mand than  the  sour  wines  or  clarets.  A  high- 
priced  article  is  imported  tobacco.  A  two-ounce 
package  of  smoking  tobacco  such  as  is  sold  in  the 
United  States  for  ten  cents,  cannot  be  bought 
for  less  than  fifty  cents.  A  large  quantity  of 
tobacco  is  raised  in  the  country,  but  it  is  poorly 
prepared.  The  most  acceptable  form  in  which 
it  is  offered  to  the  consumer  is  a  long,  thin  cigar, 
called  the  puro,  which  sells  for  ten  cents  a 
dozen. 

The  production  of  tobacco  and  of  aguardiente, 
a  brandy  made  from  sugar-cane,  are  govern- 
ment monopolies,  and  among  the  chief  sources 
of  public  revenue. 

While  the  whites  are  generally  engaged  in 
trade,  nearly  all  of  the  industries  of  the  coun- 
try are  carried  on  by  the  Indians.  They  are 
the  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  the  sole  manufac- 
turers of  many  articles,  as  cloth,  palm  and 
"Panama"  hats,  variegated  mats,  cord,  ham- 
mocks, rope,  and  pottery.  In  some  places  at 
least,  most,  if  not  all,  of  these  industries,  are 
carried  on  with  the  primitive  means.  In  the 

254 


department  of  Segovia  the  wooden  plow  with 
iron  shoe,  brought  over  by  the  Spaniards  im- 
mediately after  the  conquest,  is  still  the  only 
one  in  use.  The  Indians,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, had  no  beasts  of  burden  before  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Spaniards,  and  were  consequently 
unacquainted  with  the  use  of  the  plow.  Pita, 
and  the  cord  and  rope  into  which  it  is  worked 
up,  are  everywhere  made  to-day  as  they  were 
made  before  the  conquest.  An  Englishman  de- 
vised some  machinery  for  separating  the  pita 
from  the  leaves  and  stems  of  the  agave  plant, 
which  produces  it,  and  a  set  of  this  machinery, 
purchased  by  the  government,  had  been  lying 
at  Managua,  unset-up,  for  some  time  previous 
to  our  visit.  On  some  of  the  larger  estates 
along  the  west  coast,  they  have  improved, 
though  not  the  latest,  machinery  for  making 
sugar,  but  east  of  the  lakes  the  old-fashioned 
wooden  mill  and  open  pans  for  boiling  are 
everywhere  employed.  Mr.  Belt  thinks  that 
sugar-cane  was  unknown  to  the  Aztecs.  It  is 
not  mentioned  by  any  of  the  chroniclers  of  the 
conquest,  and,  unlike  maize  and  cacao,  there  is 
no  Aztec  name  for  it.  The  Aztecs  made  sugar 

255 


from  the  stalks  of  maize.  All  of  their  pottery 
is  made  to-day  precisely  as  it  was  made  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest.  Among  the  useful  articles 
of  earthenware  they  make  is  a  jar  for  cooling 
water,  now  generally  called  a  *'monkey."  It  is 
porous,  and  being  filled  with  water  and  set  in  a 
shady  spot  where  the  wind  can  blow  on  it,  the 
moisture  which  covers  the  outer  surface  is 
evaporated,  so  the  water  within  is  speedily 
cooled  and  kept  cool. 

An  important  and  also  interesting  industry  is 
the  cultivation  of  cacao.  Cacao,  often  improp- 
erly called  cocoa,  is  the  bean  from  which 
chocolate  is  made.  It  is  borne  by  a  low,  bushy 
tree,  in  pods  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  large 
cucumber.  The  tree  takes  about  seven  years 
to  bear,  and  requires  shade.  In  the  early 
stages  of  its  growth  it  is  shaded  by  plantain 
trees,  and  subsequently  by  the  coral  tree,  a 
species  of  Erythrina,  which  because  of  its  use 
for  shading  the  fruit  tree,  is  called  by  the 
natives  cacao  madre,  cacao's  mother.  The 
coral  tree  grows  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  high, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  April  its  crown  is  a 
mass  of  bright,  crimson  flowers,  fairly  dazzling 

256 


to  the  beholder  when  the  sun  is  shining  on  it. 
At  this  time  a  cacao  plantation  is  a  wonderful 
sight.  The  cacao  bean  was  used  by  the  Aztecs 
as  money,  and  it  is  still  used  by  the  Indians  of 
Nicaragua  in  some  places  for  making  small 
change.  The  Mexicans  played  with  rubber 
balls  before  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards.  I 
have  already  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  rub- 
ber of  Nicaragua  is  made  from  a  different  tree 
from  that  which  produces  Brazil  rubber. 
Rubber  still  bears  in  Nicaragua  the  Aztec  name 
ulli,  and  hence  the  gatherers  are  called  ulleros. 
The  tree  from  which  it  is  taken,  Castilloa  elas- 
tica,  a  species  of  wild  fig,  is  found  in  the  forests 
of  the  Atlantic  coast. 

To  procure  the  rubber,  the  ulleros  "first  make 
a  ladder  out  of  the  lianas  or  'vejuccos'  that 
hang  from  every  tree ;  this  they  do  by  tying 
short  pieces  of  wood  across  them  with  small 
lianas,  many  of  which  are  as  tough  as  cord. 
They  then  proceed  to  score  the  bark  with  cuts, 
which  extend  nearly  round  the  tree  like  the 
letter  V,  the  point  being  downward.  A  cut 
like  this  is  made  about  every  three  feet  all  the 

way  up  the  trunk.     The  milk  will  all  run  out  of 
R  257 


a  tree  in  about  an  hour  after  it  is  cut,  and  is 
collected  into  a  large  tin  bottle,  made  flat  on 
one  side  and  furnished  with  straps  to  fix  on  to 
a  man's  back.  A  decoction  is  made  from  a 
liana  (Calonyction  speciosum},  and  this  on 
being  added  to  the  milk,  in  the  proportion  of 
one  pint  to  a  gallon,  coagulates  it  to  rubber, 
which  is  made  into  round,  flat  cakes.  A  large 
tree,  five  feet  in  diameter,  will  yield  when  first 
cut  about  twenty  gallons  of  milk,  each  gallon 
of  which  makes  two  and  a  half  pounds  of  rub- 
ber. I  was  told  that  the  tree  recovers  from 
the  wounds  and  may  be  cut  again  after  the 
lapse  of  a  few  months ;  but  several  that  I  saw 
were  killed  through  the  large  Harlequin  beetle 
(Acrocinus  longimanus)  laying  its  eggs  in  the 
cuts,  and  the  grubs  that  are  hatched  boring 
great  holes  all  through  the  trunk.  When  these 
grubs  are  at  work  you  can  hear  their  rasping  by 
standing  at  the  bottom  of  the  tree,  and  the 
wood-dust  thrown  out  of  their  burrows  accumu- 
lates in  heaps  on  the  ground  below. 

"The  government  attempts  no  supervision  of 
the  forests:  any  one  may  cut  the  trees,  and 
great  destruction  is  going  on  among  them 

258 


through  the  young  ones  being  tapped  as  well  as 
the  full-grown,  ones.  The  tree  grows  very 
quickly,  and  plantations  of  it  might  easily  be 
made,  which  would  in  the  course  of  ten  or 
twelve  years  become  highly  remunerative."* 

*  "  Belt,  The  Naturalist  in  Nicaragua/' 


MOUTH    OF    RIO    FRIO,   FROM    LAKE    NICARAGUA 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ARCHAEOLOGY. 

THE  birthplace  and  origin  of  the  people  who 
created  the  wonderful  civilization  the  Span- 
iards found  in  Central  and  South  America  are 
shrouded  in  mystery.  They  differed  radically 
from  the  aborigines  of  America  and  were  evi- 
dently not  related  to  any  of  the  peoples  of 
Europe,  Africa,  or  Asia.  Their  own  traditions 
show  that  they  came  from  the  northward,  but 
are  silent  both  as  to  the  name  or  location  of  the 
land  of  their  nativity. 

On  the  eastern  coast  of  Nicaragua  was  an- 
other, more  warlike  and  far  less  civilized, 
people  who  were  not  to  the  country  born. 
Those  were  the  Caribs  who  peopled  the  islands 
of  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  many  of  the  Antilles. 
Some  of  their  characteristics  correspond  with 
the  meager  hints  tradition  has  handed  down  to 
us  concerning  the  inhabitants  of  the  lost  Atlan- 

260 


tis.  Recent  examinations  of  the  bed  of  the 
Atlantic  have  revealed  the  existence  of  a  vast 
submerged  plateau,  about  midway  between 
Europe  and  America,  answering  to  the  position 
assigned  by  tradition  to  the  vanished  island. 
Tradition  usually  conceals  a  crystal  of  fact 
under  an  efflorescence  of  fable,  and  .thus  the 
story  of  Atlantis  seems  to  have  substantial 
basis.  Belt  ingeniously,  and  plausibly,  accounts 
for  the  submersion  of  the  island  by  calculating 
that  at  the  end  of  the  glacial  period,  the  sudden 
release  of  the  water  held  in  confinement  by  the 
ice  on  the  uplands,  raised  the  level  of  the 
oceans  many  feet  and  thus  engulfed  vast  areas 
that  had  hitherto  been  dry  land  and  the  seat 
of  populous  communities.  Cuba,  and  possibly 
other  of  the  West  Indian  islands,  which  up  to 
that  time  had  been  a  part  of  the  American  con- 
tinent, were  then  cut  off,  and  Atlantis  and 
probably  also  unheard  of  islands  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  disappeared  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
sea.  He  assigns  the  origin  of  the  Caribs  to  At- 
lantis and  of  the  Aztecs  to  one  of  the  lost 
islands  of  the  Pacific. 
Whencesoever  they  may  have  originated,  the 

261 


traditions  of  the  Aztecs,  and  such  of  their  ideo- 
graphic paintings  as  have  survived  the  ignorant 
vandalism  of  the  Spaniards,  leave  no  room  to 
doubt  that  they  came  from  the  north,  after 
wanderings  covering  long  distances  and  embrac- 
ing many  years ;  were  driven  back,  almost  if  not 
quite  to  their  native  land,  and,  in  the  course  of 
centuries,  returned  and  secured  a  foothold  ,in 
the  valley  of  Anahuac  (Mexico),  from  which 
point  they  overran  the  surrounding  country. 
It  is  probable  that  their  ideographic  paintings, 
of  which  they  possessed  a  great  number,  con- 
tained a  complete  history  of  their  second  migra- 
tion and  perhaps  also  some  account  of  their 
origin  and  native  land ;  but  unfortunately  the 
Spaniards,  with  unreasoning  fanaticism,  re- 
garded these  paintings  a  sconcomitants  of  pagan 
idolatry,  and  destroyed  them  with  a  zeal  more 
fervid  than  intelligent.  From  the  principal 
university,  which  contained  thousands  of  them, 
they  took  the  paintings  and  made  huge  bonfires 
in  the  market  place.  And  so  they  signalized 
the  triumph  of  civilization  over  barbarism. 

According  to  the  traditions  of  the  Aztecs,  the 
first  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  Central  America 

262 


now  covered  by  Mexico,  were  a  race  of  giants, 
whose  name  has  not  been  preserved.  The 
giants  were  destroyed  by  the  Olmecs,  of  whom 
little  else  has  been  transmitted.  The  Olmecs 
were  overrun  in  turn  by  the  Xicalncs,  the 
Otomites,  the  Toltecs,  the  Chichimecs  and  the 
Aztecs.  The  'Mayas  of  Yucatan  were  a  different 
people  from  the  Aztecs,  though  nearly  related, 
and  possibly  were  descendants  of  the  Toltecs. 
The  Chichimecs,  who  are  supposed  to  have 
driven  out  the  Toltecs,  and  whom  the  Aztecs 
found  in  possession  of  the  valley  of  Mexico, 
were  probably  one  of  the  indigenous  tribes  that 
had  gained  temporary  ascendency. 

Quetzacoatl,  who  led  the  Aztecs  into  Ana- 
huac,  gave  them  their  laws  and  went  away 
without  dying,  leaving  a  revered  memory,  was 
a  white  man.  He  promised  to  return  after  a 
great  many  years  at  the  head  of  gods  with  pale 
faces  from  the  East.  Thus  the  Aztecs  were 
not  surprised  at  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards  and 
were  disposed  to  receive  them  as  welcome 
guests.  So  confidently  did  that  faithful  people 
rely  on  the  promise  of  Quetzacoatl  that  Monte- 
zuma  had  great  difficulty  in  persuading  them 

263 


that  the  invaders  were  only  men,  and  in  rousing 
them  to  the  defense  of  their  country. 

A  glance  at  the  cosmogony  of  the  Nahuatls, 
as  the  Aztecs  and  their  kindred  races  have 
been  termed,  is  essential  to  a  proper  under- 
standing of  their  customs  and  institutions. 
They  believed  in  a  heaven  occupied  by  the  god, 
Tonacatecuhtli,  and  his  wife  Tonacacehuatl. 
There  was  yet  another  god  higher  than  these, 
the  supreme  being,  independent  and  absolute. 
Necessarily  invisible,  they  never  attempted  to 
represent  him  by  images.  His  only  designation 
was  Teotl  (God).  He  was  spoken  of  as  Ipolne- 
moani  (He  who  gives  us  life);  Tloque-nahua- 
que  (He  who  embraces  everything).  The 
couple  above  named  had  four  sons,  differing  in 
appearance  and  jurisdiction.  The  eldest  was 
Tlatlauhquitezcatlipoca,  the  red  god,  who  does 
not  appear  to  have  cut  a  very  important  figure 
in  the  devotions  of  the  people.  The  second 
was  Yayauhqui,  who  was  black,  and  whose  in- 
stincts were  evil.  The  third  was  Quetzacoatl, 
who  was  white,  whose  instincts  were  good  and 
who  was  the  favorite  deity  and  lawgiver  of  the 
people.  The  fourth  and  youngest  was  Huitzili- 

264 


pochtli,  who  was  a  mere  skeleton  covered  with 
a  yellow  skin,  but  eventually  fell  into  flesh,  the 
war  god  of  the  Nahuatls,  and  the  bloodthirsty 
deity  to  whom  the  most  frequent  and  atrocious 
human  sacrifices  were  offered.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  in  passing  that  they  had  a  god  corre- 
sponding in  color  with  each  of  the  four  great 
families  of  the  human  race. 

During  six  hundred  years  the  gods  remained 
in  idleness,  and  then  Quetzacoatl  and  Huitzili- 
pochtli  were  made  executors.  They  proceeded 
to  act  by  creating  a  sun  and  a  demi-sun,  from 
the  first  of  which  came  fire;  they  next  created 
man,  Oxomoco,  and  woman,  Cipactonatl,  whom 
they  commanded  to  cultivate  the  ground  with 
care.  The  woman  was  also  commanded  to  spin 
and  weave  and  endowed  with  the  gift  of  proph- 
ecy. As  a  reward  for  her  oracles  she  was 
given  seeds  of  maize  to  supply  food  for  her  de- 
scendants. After  starting  the  human  race  on 
its  journey  of  life,  Quetzacoatl  and  Huitzili- 
pochtli  created  Mictlanteuctl  and  his  compan- 
ion Mictlancihuatl,  whom  they  appointed  rulers 
of  the  infernal  regions.  It  will  be  seen  further 
on  that  they  created  other  gods  as  needed. 

265 


There  were  thirteen  heavens,  and  probably 
from  that  belief  the  number  thirteen  had  a 
mystic  significance  for  the  people.  Some  of 
these  heavens  were  queerly  peopled,  as  for  ex- 
ample, the  second,  which  was  occupied  by 
women  skeletons;  the  third,  by  four  hundred 
men,  yellow,  black,  white,  blue  and  red;  the 
fourth,  by  birds;  the  fifth,  by  fiery  serpents, 
comets  and  falling  stars;  the  sixth  was  the 
empire  of  the  wind.  It  was  not  known  what 
existed  between  the  sixth  heaven  and  the  thir- 
teenth, which  last  was  the  residence  of  the  im- 
mutable Tonacatecuhtli.  To  the  student  of 
comparative  cosmogony  there  must  be  a  notable 
resemblance  between  this  unexplored  heavenly 
region  and  the  purgatorialdomain  of  the  Eoman 
Catholics. 

The  operation  of  every  natural  law  was  at- 
tributed to  the  active  agency  of  a  god,  and  so 
there  was  of  necessity  a  multiplicity  of  gods. 
An  enumeration  of  all  of  these  is  not  within  the 
scope  of  my  purpose,  but  a  few  may  be  briefly 
referred  to  for  the  light  they  throw  on  the  pe- 
culiar ideas  of  that  strange  people.  Thus 
Tlalocaltecuhtli,  and  his  wife  Chalchiutlicue, 

266 


were  the  rulers  of  water,  which  was  stored  up 
in  four  pools.  The  water  of  the  first  pool  facil- 
itated germination ;  that  of  the  second  withered 
the  seed ;  that  of  the  third  froze  it,  while  that  of 
the  fourth  dried  it.  An  army  of  pigmies,  each 
individual  armed  with  an  amphora  and  a  wand, 
carried  the  water  and  sprinkled  it  in  rain. 
Thunder  was  produced  when  one  of  these  pig- 
mies broke  his  jar. 

Tezcatlipoca  (the  shining  mirror)  ranked  next 
in  importance  to  the  impersonal  Teotl.  He 
was  called  the  "soul  of  the  world,"  and  re- 
garded as  the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  the 
master  of  all  things,  in  short,  as  Providence.  He 
rewarded  the  just  and  punished  evil  doers.  He 
spent  much  of  his  time  on  earth,  going  about 
unseen  among  men,  and  stone  seats  ornamented 
with  plants  were  set  up  at  street  corners  to 
afford  him  places  of  rest.  He  was  always  de- 
picted as  a  young  man,  for  time  had  no  effect 
on  him.  Still  another  god  who  exercised  a 
potent  influence  on  the  affairs  of  men  was 
Tlacatecolotl  (the  reasoning  owl),  the  evil  spirit, 
the  enemy  of  the  human  race.  Incessantly  op- 
posed to  Teotl,  he  corresponded  to  the4evil  of 

267 


the  Christians.  Tlaloc,  the  god  of  the  sea,  who, 
by  a  strange  inconsistency  of  ideas,  was  sup- 
posed to  live  in  the  mountains,  also  figured 
prominently  in  the  worship,  and  was  specially 
appeased  by  the  sacrifice  of  young  children. 

Like  men  the  gods  often  had  their  differences. 
One  of  the  most  serious  family  jars  occurred  on 
the  subject  of  light.  Tezcatlipoca  undertook 
to  fashion  a  complete  star  and  got  into  a  con- 
troversy on  the  subject  with  the  good  Quetza- 
coatl,  who  struck  him  a  blow  with  his  stick  and 
precipitated  him  into  the  water,  where  he  was 
transformed  into  a  tiger.  More  than  six  hun- 
dred years  later  they  again  attempted  to  settle 
the  difference,  and  Tezcatlipoca  gave  Quetza- 
coatla  blow  with  his  paw  which  hurled  him  out 
of  heaven.  The  fall  of  the  god  produced  such  a 
tempest  that  nearly  all  mankind  were  destroyed, 
and  the  few  survivors  were  transformed  into 
monkeys.  This  would  all  appear  very  ridicu- 
lous did  we  not  see  in  it  an  attempt  to  account 
for  two  very  important  events,  a  great  catas- 
trophe which  nearly  annihilated  the  people,  and 
the  presence  of  the  god  among  men  as  a  ruler 
and  lawgiver.  Other  great  disasters  were 

268 


similarly  explained.  For  example:  Tezcatlipoca 
rained  fire  upon  the  earth  and  the  goddess 
Chalchiutlicue  deluged  it  with  water.  On  one 
occasion  the  sun  went  out,  and  one  of  a  race  of 
demi-gods  who  inhabited  the  earth  was  trans- 
formed into  a  star  to  replace  the  lost  luminary. 
He  did  not  rise  high  enough  in  the  heavens  and 
remained  stationary,  whereat  one  of  his 
brethren  upbraided  him.  In  his  wrath  he 
slew  the  offender  and  condemned  the  whole 
race  to  a  lingering  death.  Appalled  at  the 
severity  of  the  sentence,  the  chief  killed  the 
whole  tribe  by  cutting  out  the  heart  of  each  in- 
dividual, and  finally  killed  himself.  In  this 
myth  we  probably  have  the  beginning  of  the 
human  sacrifices  to  which  the  Nahuatls  were 
addicted,  as  well  as  the  peculiar  method  by 
which  they  were  practiced. 

It  has  already  been  noted  that  the  gods 
created  man  and  woman.  The  first  woman 
bore  a  son,  but  as  he  had  no  mate  they  came  to 
his  assistance  and  made  him  one  out  of  a  hair. 
A  peculiar  feature  of  the  Nahuatls'  cosmogony 
is  that  it  embraces  several  distinct  creations  of 
man.  Unquestionably  that  was  an  effort  to 

271 


account  for  the  origin  of  different  races  of  men. 
Thus,  we  are  told  that  the  gods  long  after  the 
creation  just  referred  to,  created  the  giants 
who,  as  has  been  mentioned,  were  supposed  to 
be  the  first  inhabitants  of  Central  America. 
Again,  after  Tezcatlipoca  had  rained  fire  upon 
the  earth  and  Chalchiutlicue  had  rained  water, 
it  became  necessary  to  repeople  the  land,  and 
Camaxfcle-Huitzilipochtli  struck  a  rock  with  his 
stick  and  brought  forth  the  Chichimec-Oto- 
mites,  who  peopled  the  country  before  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Aztecs.  The  observant  reader  will 
not  fail  to  notice  a  contradiction  here  of  the 
statement  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
chapter  that  the  Olmecs  destroyed  the  giants. 
The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  the  traditions,  and 
even  the  early  writings,  of  every  people  are  full 
of  contradictions  and  seemingly  irrelevant 
statements.  A  striking  example  of  the  latter 
fact  occurs  with  the  creation  of  the  giants,  in 
which  connection  we  are  told  that  Huitzili- 
pochtli's  bones  then  took  on  a  covering  of  flesh. 
No  doubt,  though,  all  such  statements  had  at 
first  a  significance  that  has  been  lost  in  the 

course  ot  time. 

272 


The  Nahuatls  possessed  considerable  knowl- 
edge of  astronomy,  and  in  that  respect  surprised 
the  Spaniards  not  a  little.  Mixed  up  with  their 
knowledge,  however,  was  a  good  deal  of  child- 
ish error.  For  example :  They  believed  that  the 
sun  and  moon  wandered  through  space,  which 
was  not  a  great  way  from  the  truth,  but  they 
also  supposed  that  the  sun,  having  traversed 
half  of  the  open  space  before  him,  turned  back 
and  retreated  on  his  tracks.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  possessed  an  accurate  and  excellent 
calendar,  and  knowing  the  difference  between 
the  solar  and  the  civil  year  provided  for  it. 
The  year,  like  our  own  was,  divided  into  365 
days,  but  they  had  eighteen  months  of  twenty 
days  each,  and  added  the  extra  five  days  to  the 
last  month.  They  regarded  those  five  days  as 
superfluous,  though  necessary  to  fill  out  the 
calendar,  and  called  them  Nemontemi,^.£.,  use- 
less. They  also  had  a  cycle  of  fifty-two  years, 
divided  into  four  periods  of  thirteen  years  each. 
In  this  cycle  the  difference  of  duration  between 
the  solar  and  civil  year  was  provided  for  by  the 
addition  of  thirteen  days  to  the  end  of  the  cycle. 
Thev  entertained  a  superstitious  dread  of  the 

s  273 


destruction  of  the  world  during  the  transition 
from  one  cycle  to  another,  and  so  the  last  thir- 
teen days  of  each  cycle  were  given  up  to  peculiar 
observances  which  will  be  described  further  on 
in  connection  with  the  forms  of  worship.  This, 
it  must  be  remarked,  was  the  Aztec  calendar. 
The  Mayas  of  Yucatan  had  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent, though  equally  accurate  calendar. 

The  . plac.es _  of  worship — it  would  be  a  mis- 
nomer to  call  them  temples — were  termed 
Teocalli,  or  Terpan  (houses  of  God).  The  two 
names  appear  to  have  been  used  indifferently 
by  the  Nahuatls,  but  the  former  is  the  more 
familiar  to  English  ears.  They  were  pyramidal- 
shaped  stone  terraces,  of  different  height, 
usually  composed  of  ten  terraces,  and  sur- 
mounted by  two  conical  towers.  The  chief 
place  of  worship  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  at  the 
advent  of  the  Spaniards,  measured  more  than 
350  feet  on  one  side  of  the  base,  250  feet  on  the 
transverse,  and  120  feet  in  height.  The  plat- 
form at  the  summit  measured  more  than  fifty 
by  one  hundred  feet  and  the  towers  that  sur- 
mounted it  were  over  fifty  feet  in  height.  The 
religious  observances  were  held  upon  the  un- 

274 


covered  platform,  and  the  towers  were  used  for 
storing  the  ashes  of  the  dead  kings  and  the 
vestments  and  paraphernalia  of  the  priests. 

The  Teocalli  were  erected  in  the  midst  of 
squares  surrounded  by  thick  walls,  and  in  cases 
of  need  were  used  as  fortresses  of  defense. 
The  last  stand  of  the  Anahuac  nobles  against 
the  Spaniards  was  made  upon  the  structure 
just  described.  The  sacrificial  ceremonies 
were  performed  upon  the  crowning  platform, 
and  on  such  occasions  the  square  below  was 
filled  with  a  vast  concourse  of  people.  The 
sacrificial,  stone,  or  altar,  an  oblong  block  with 
a  convex  surface,  was  placed  near  the  center  of 
the  platform,  but  closer  to  the  eastern  side,  be- 
cause the  majority  of  the  sacrifices  were  per- 
formed in  the  early  morning  while  the  sun, 
which  played  an  important  part  in  those  shock- 
ing rites,  was  still  in  the  eastern  sky.  The 
number  of  priests  employed  varied  from  two  to 
a  score  or  more,  according  to  the  importance  of 
the  ceremony.  They  wore  long  hair,  which 
was  often  stained  with  different  colors  or  orna- 
mented with  brilliant  feathers.  Their  faces 
were  painted  black,  with  the  lips  white.  The 

275 


officiating  priest  wore  a  crimson  gown,  while  his 
assistants  wore  white  gowns  with  black  trim- 
mings. The  knife  used  was  made  of  obsidian,  a 
mineral  with  a  feldspar  base,  capable  of  taking 
an  extremely  keen  edge.  The  victim  was  held 
by  the  celebrant's  assistants,  back  down  upon 
the  altar,  the  convex  surface  of  which  caused 
the  breast  to  protrude  upward.  Then  the  man 
in  crimson  deftly  cut  out  the  poor  wretch's 
heart  and  held  it  in  his  gory  hands,  first  to  the 
rising  sun,  and  next  to  the  adjacent  image  of 
the  god  who  claimed  the  sacrifice.  If,  as  was 
sometimes  the  case,  the  image  had  an  open 
mouth,  the  bleeding  heart  was  placed  in  it. 
Generally,  however,  the  heart  was  thrown  to 
the  base  of  the  idol.  This  part  of  the  rite  was 
horrible  enough,  but  what  followed  was  still 
more  revolting.  The  arms  and  legs  of  the  vic- 
tims were  cut  off,  and  furnished  to  the  king  or 
his  nobles  to  be  eaten  at  a  banquet.  Although 
the  king  had  the  first  choice,  the  flesh  only  of 
distinguished  victims  was  served  at  his  board. 

Religious  feasts  were  held  almost  every  day 
in  the  year,  and  as  every  feast  claimed  its 
human  victim,  or  victims,  besides  birds  and 

276 


animals,  the  number  of  persons  immolated  was 
enormous.  It  has  been  calculated  that,  at  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  the  number  of  persons 
annually  sacrificed  within  the  confines  of  Ana- 
huac  alone  was  fully  20,000.  To  supply  vic- 
tims for  the  sacrifice,  the  Anahuacs  preferred 
capturing  to  killing  enemies  encountered  in 
battle.  But  they  did  not  rely  entirely  on  cap- 
tives for  their  victims.  These  were  frequently 
selected  from  among  themselves,  and  numbers 
even  volunteered.  Young  children,  especially, 
were  offered  by  their  parents.  This  may  seem 
incredible,  but  it  must  be  understood  that  to  be 
offered  to  the  gods  was  an  enviable  distinction, 
for  it  brought  honor  to  the  victim's  family,  and 
everlasting  happiness,  with  a  prominent  place 
in  heaven,  to  the  victim.  Nor  were  the  Ana- 
huacs entirely  peculiar  in  this  respect.  An  ex- 
.  ample  of  religious  zeal  very  nearly  parallel  to 
this  is  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  the  Martyrs 
during  the  early  stages  of  Christianity. 

The  most  popular  as  well  as  the  most  impos- 
ing religious  festival  appears  to  have  been  the 
great  feast  of  Tezcatlipoca,  held  annually  to- 
ward the  close  of  the  year.  The  human  victim 

277 


for  this  occasion  was  a  captive,  selected  on  ac- 
count of  his  physical  perfection.  He  was 
chosen  about  a  year  in  advance,  and  thence- 
forth treated  like  one  of  the  princes  of  the 
realm,  with  the  greatest  deference.  All  of  his 
wants  were  ministered  to  in  the  most  liberal 
manner,  and  he  was  allowed  the  utmost  freedom 
without,  however,  a  chance  of  escape.  Within 
a  few  weeks  of  the  fatal  day  he  was  presented 
to  a  number  of  high-born  maidens,  from  whom 
he  was  at  liberty  to  select  three  wives,  and 
these  were  married  to  him  with  great  pomp  and 
ceremony.  But  though  pampered,  and  petted, 
and  honored,  nothing  could  save  him  from  the 
sacrificial  stone  on  the  appointed  day.  This 
singular  custom  has  been  spoken  of  as  the  re- 
finement of  cruelty,  but  I  think  that  is  a  mis- 
conception of  the  Aztec  character.  The  treat- 
ment of  the  victim  was  intended  as  a  foretaste 
of  what  the  gods  had  in  store  for  him. 

In  spite  of  their  horrible  rites,  the  Nahuatls 
were  not  a  cruel  race.  Their  domestic  rela- 
tions, their  treatment  of  animals,  their  patient 
demeanor  under  the  shocking  barbarities  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  the  gentle  disposition  of  their 

278 


descendants  of  the  present  day,  prove  conclu- 
sively that  they  were  a  kindly  people.  They 
were  far  from  being  cannibals,  and  yet  we  have 
seen  that  they  eat  portions  of  the  bodies  of  vic- 
tims of  the  sacrifice.  The  barbarities  of  their 
rites  are  fully  explained  by  their  religious  zeal, 
and  the  influence  exercised  over  them  by  the 
priests.  The  history  of  the  Inquisition,  and 
later  of  witchcraft,  show  what  astounding  and 
atrocious  cruelty  can  be  practiced  in  the  name 
of  religion. 

We  have  seen  that  there  was  a  multiplicity  of 
gods,  and  as  each  god  had  a  large  retinue  of 
priests,  there  was  in  consequence  a  multitude  of 
priests.  They  were  not  only  the  spiritual  ad- 
visers of  the  people,  they  were  academicians, 
historians,  teachers,  and  also  temporal  counsel- 
lors of  the  sovereign.  They  were  held  in  the 
highest  esteem,  and  their  influence  was  im- 
mense. The  office  was  eagerly  aspired  to  both 
by  men  and  women,  and  children  of  both  sexes 
were  consecrated  to  it  at  birth,  and  carefully 
reared  and  educated  for  the  duties  they  would 
have  to  perform.  It  followed  inevitably  that 
the  word  of  the  priest  was  law,  and  his  com- 

279 


mand,  no  matter  how  revolting,  must  be 
obeyed.  What  was  cruelty  to  the  individual 
judgment  lost,  at  once,  the  character  of  cruelty 
when  sanctioned  by  the  priest.  Blood  shed- 
ding was  an  essential  adjunct  of  religious  ob- 
servance, for  many  of  the  gods  could  not  be 
appeased  in  any  other  way.  The  priests 
pricked  themselves  with  thorns  to  shed  their 
own  blood  as  an  act  of  personal  devotion,  and 
the  people  followed  their  example  so  faithfully 
that  every  nuptial  couch  was  hung  with  two 
acacia  thorns,  to  be  used  by  the  bride  and  groom 
in  that  manner. 

But  while  the  priests  were  honored  and  ven- 
erated in  the  highest  degree,  they  were  held  to 
the  strictest  conformity  with  their  vows.  No 
backsliding  was  tolerated,  while  any  grave 
breach  of  rectitude,  like  unchastity,  was 
promptly  punished  with  torture  and  death.  Con- 
sequently they  were  an  austere  and  virtuous 
class.  Even  the  Spanish  missionaries  could  find 
nothing  to  say  against  their  personal  habits. 
Marriage  was  permissible  to  them  and  not 
uncommon,  and  they  were  also  at  liberty  to  re- 
sign the  office  and  retire  to  secular  life  and  pur- 

28D 


PROFESSOR    L.    M.   HAUPT,   MEMBER    OF    THE    NICARAGUA    CANAL   COM- 
MISSION 

From  a  photograph  by  Guntekunst 


suits,  after  the  expiration  of  a  fixed  term. 
Having  earned  the  honors  attached  to  the  priest- 
hood, many  graduates  annually  availed  them- 
selves of  this  privilege. 

A  remarkable  ceremonial,  known  as  the  extin- 
guishing and  rekindling  of  the  fire,  was  held  at 
the  end  of  the  cycle,  once  in  every  fifty -two 
years.  Keference  has  already  been  made  to 
the  superstitious  dread  entertained  that  the 
world  might  be  destroyed  during  the  transition 
from  one  cycle  to  another.  The  critical  period 
was  during  the  added  thirteen  days  at  the  end 
of  the  expiring  cycle.  Each  head  of  a  family 
put  his  affairs  in  order  for  a  final  settlement; 
every  household  was  prepared  for  the  great 
catastrophe;  everything  was  put  in  readiness 
as  if  the  family  was  about  to  start  on  a  pro- 
tracted journey,  and  then  the  fire  was  extin- 
guished in  every  palace  and  hovel  in  the  land. 
Meanwhile  the  priests  were  busy  in  their  sanc- 
tuaries, doing  everything  in  their  power  to  ap- 
pease the  wrath  of  the  gods,  and  blood  flowed 
in  torrents  upon  the  teocalli.  Fasting,  praying, 
blood-letting,  and  the  practice  of  other  austeri- 
ties, were  kept  up  until  the  last  hour  of  the  last 

283 


of  the  fateful  thirteen  days,  and  then  there  was 
a  great  outburst  of  rejoicing.  The  priests  re- 
kindled the  fire,  and  messengers  with  burning 
brands  were  sent  out,  on  the  run  to  renew  the 
flame  on  every  hearthstone  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  empire. 

The  principal  act  of  personal  devotion  con- 
sisted in  touching  the  soil  with  the  middle  fin- 
ger of  the  right  hand,  and  carrying  to  the  mouth 
the  dust  that  adhered.  Prostrations,  fasts,  and 
other  austerities,  such  as  the  blood-letting 
above  referred  to,  were  also  commonly  prac- 
ticed. Frequent  offerings  to  the  gods  was  an 
essential  part  of  personal  worship.  I  have 
already  mentioned  the  dreadful  custom  of  ten- 
dering young  children  for  the  sacrifice.  A  much 
more  general  and  less  shocking  custom  was  the 
placing  of  food  and  savory  dishes  before  the 
idols  under  cover  of  darkness.  It  may  be  sup- 
posed that  this  custom  was  particularly  encour- 
aged by  the  priests,  as  it  reduced  expenses  and 
saved  time  and  trouble  in  the  sanctuaries. 
Here  is  the  most  popular  form  of  prayer,  that 
which  was  offered  to  Tezcatlipoca : 

"Mighty  God,  thou  who  gavest  me  life  and 

284 


whose  slave  I  am,  grant  me  the  supreme  grace 
of  giving  me  meat  and  drink;  grant  me  the  en- 
joyment of  thy  clemency,  that  it  may  support 
me  in  my  labors  and  my  wants.  Have  pity  on 
me,  who  live  sad,  poor,  and  abandoned,  and 
since  I  serve  thee  by  sweeping  thy  temple,  open 
to  me  the  hands  of  thy  mercy." 

The  usual  form  of  oath  was:  "Perchance  is 
not  the  eye  of  God  upon  me."  The  sin  of 
false  swearing  was  regarded  as  so  heinous  that 
it  was  seldom  committed.  The  Nahuatls  be- 
lieved in  the  existence  of  the  soul,  which  was 
held  to  be  immortal,  and  immortality  was  also 
accorded  to  all  animals.  As  has  been  previously 
shown,  there  were  various  places  of  abode  for 
departed  spirits.  These,  however,  required 
certain  earthly  aliments  for  their  sustenance 
and,  consequently,  some  maize  and  a  metlate,  or 
stone  for  grinding  it,  were  always  deposited  with 
the  remains  of  the  dead.  In  the  case  of  a 
wealthy  descendant  a  treasure,  equal  in  value  to 
his  earthly  fortune,  was  also  deposited  at  the 
bottom  of  the  urn  containing  the  maize,  in  the 
form  of  gold  ornaments  or  precious  stones.  It 
was  the  discovery  of  this  fact  that  led  the 

285 


Spaniards  to  desecrate  all  of  the  sepulchres 
they  located.  The  dead  were  always  cremated, 
except  the  bodies  of  criminals  and,  strange  to 
relate,  lepers,  which  were  buried,  probably  as 
a  mark  of  dishonor.  The  ashes  of  the  dead 
were,  however,  buried  or  deposited  in  caverns 
or  under  cairns.  There  were  no  fixed  burial 
places,  and  thus  the  ashes  of  a  land  owner  were 
often  buried  in  one  of  his  fields.  A  singular 
custom  was  connected  with  the  disposition  of 
the  honored  dead.  Among  the  domestic  ani- 
mals of  the  Nahuatls  was  a  species  of  hairless 
dog,  called  techichi,  highly  esteemed  as  an 
article  of  food.  When  a  member  of  a  house- 
hold died  one  of  these  animals  was  always 
killed,  and  the  body  buried  with  the  ashes,  to 
supply  the  departed  spirit  either  with  an  en- 
joyable dish  or  a  valued  companion  on  its  jour- 
ney to  the  other  world. 

The  marriage  ceremony  and  customs  pertain- 
ing thereto  were  correspondingly  peculiar. 
When  a  young  man  had  determined  on  the 
selection  of  a  wife,  the  intervention  of  a  female 
agent  was  secured,  and  that  agent  visited  the 
parents  of  the  bride  and  made  a  formal  proposi- 

286 


tion  for  her  hand,  on  behalf  of  her  client.  The 
parents  affected  reluctance  to  part  with  their 
daughter,  and  craved  time  for  reflection.  No 
answer  was  expected  for  the  moment,  but  after 
the  expiration  of  a  few  days  the  agent  paid  an- 
other visit  to  the  girl's  parents,  and  represented 
that  her  client  could  not  be  kept  waiting  in- 
definitely. Still  no  immediate  answer  was 
given,  but  the  agent  then  withdrew  from  the 
negotiation,  as  the  father  of  the  young  woman 
was  expected  to  announce  his  decision  in  per- 
son to  the  suitor.  If  the  answer  was  satisfac- 
tory the  settlements  were  arranged,  and  an  in- 
terchange of  presents,  consisting  chiefly  of  nup- 
tial garments,  effected,  and  within  a  day  or  two 
the  bride  was  conducted  by  her  parents  to  the 
residence  of  her  future  husband.  The  couple 
was  made  to  stand  side  by  side  upon  a  nuptial 
mat,  while  a  priest  joined  the  edges  of  their  gar- 
ments together.  They  were  then  declared 
man  and  wife.  Sometimes  the  young  man  ap- 
pealed directly  to  the  priest,  instead  of  .employ- 
ing the  services  of  an  agent,  and  that  function- 
ary announced  that  on  a  certain  day  the  young 
man  would  take  to  wife  the  first  young  woman 

287 


he  met  on  the  street.  By  virtue  of  that  an- 
nouncement all  young  women  who  did  not  de- 
sire the  aspirant  for  a  husband  had  ample  warn- 
ing to  stay  at  home. 

Nicaragua  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  con- 
quest was  occupied  by  several  different  tribes, 
maintaining  practically  independent  govern- 
ments. Consanguinous  to  some  extent,  there 
seems  to  be  little  room  for  doubt  that  they 
were  not  all  of  the  same  stock.  Upon  the  high- 
lands east  of  the  lakes,  now  divided  into  the 
departments  of  Chontales  and  Matagalpa,  the 
dominant  element  appears  to  have  been  a 
branch  of  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan,  while  the 
Chontalli  (barbarians)  were  the  aborigines,  by 
some  supposed  to  be  the  ancestors  of  the  Lenca 
Indians  of  to-day.  The  Cholutecas  occupied 
the  country  about  the  Gulf  of  Fonseca;  the 
Negrandanas,  about  Leon;  the  Diriangans, 
about  Masaya;  the  Niquiranas,  or  Nicaraguans, 
about  Kivas;and  the  Orotinas,  further  south. 
These  are  evidently  Spanish  renditions  of  the 
Nahuatl  names,  but  as  I  have  not  been  able  to 
discover  the  originals  they  will  answer  my  pur- 
pose. The  Nicaraguans  were  supposed  to  be 

288 


pure  Aztecs,  and  were  by  all  accounts  the  most 
advanced  in  civilization  of  all  the  tribes  here 
enumerated.  They  probably  practiced  the 
Aztec  rites,  yet  nowhere  in  the  district  they 
inhabited,  nor  indeed,  in  any  other  department 
of  Nicaragua,  could  I  find  any  remains  of  teocalli, 
such  as  existed  in  Anahuac  and  are  still  to  be 
seen  in  Yucatan.  Neither  have  I  been  able  to 
discover  a  reference  to  them  in  any  work  I  have 
consulted,  either  ancient  or  modern.  Squire 
mentions  finding  a  sacrificial  stone  among  some 
overturned  and  half-buried  statues  upon  the 
Island  of  Zapatera,  bat  he  is  silent  as  to  the 
teocalli.  What  appears  to  have  been  a  place  of 
worship  is  on  the  mountain  isle  of  Momotom- 
bito  in  Lake  Managua.  In  a  sort  of  a  natural 
amphitheater  a  large  number  of  statues  were 
arranged  along  the  four  sides  of  a  square,  with 
the  faces  presented  inward.  Groups  of  statues 
have  also  been  found  on  the  site  of  the  ancient 
town  of  Subtiaba,  south  of  Leon ;  upon  the 
Island  of  Pensacola,  near  Granada,  and  upon  the 
Island  of  Zapa,tera,  and  it  is  possible  they  all 
were  collected  about  similar  places  of  worship. 
This,  however,  is  mere  conjecture. 

T  289    * 


The  Spaniards  with  blind  fanaticism  mistook 
every  carved  stone  for  an  idol,  and  ignorantly 
proceeded  to  deface  or  destroy  it.  In  that  way 
nearly  every  piece  of  sculpture  in  the  country 
was  either  broken  or  mutilated.  It  was  next  to 
impossible  to  destroy  them  completely,  as  they 
were  generally  fashioned  out  of  trachyte  or 
some  other  very  hard  stone,  but  the  nose  and 
other  projecting  parts  were  usually  broken  off. 
The  Nahuatls  undoubtedly  had  idols  or  images 
of  their  gods,  but  they  differed  in  character  and 
appearance  from  the  works  here  considered, 
which  were  really  statues,  or  monuments  of 
dead  heroes  and  statesmen.  The  images  of  the 
gods  were  cut  in  relief  on  square  or  oblong 
slabs  of  teotetl  (divine  stone),  a  brilliant  black 
marble,  and  portrayed,  either  in  the  face  or 
surrounding  insignia,  the  distinctive  character- 
istics of  the  deity.  Thus  Tezcatlipoca  was  in- 
variably depicted  as  a  young  man,  for,  being 
immutable,  time  had  no  effect  on  him.  Huit- 
zilipochtli,  being  the  god  of  war,  was  given  a 
terrible  and  ferocious  aspect.  The  statues,  on 
the  other  hand,  were  busts  or  full-length  figures 
in  various  positions,  generally  of  heroic  size, 

290 


unmistakably  fashioned  to  commemorate  the 
features  and  attributes  of  individual  men  and 
women.  The  faces  and  expression  have  the 
differences  corresponding  to  the  variations  in 
the  appearance  of  individuals.  The  statesman 
is  distinguishable  by  his  thoughtful  expression ; 
the  warrior  by  his  helmet,  sometimes  the  head 
of  a  predatory  animal  whose  traits  he  was  be- 
lieved to  embody ;  and  as  fewer  women  than 
men  have  risen  to  prominence  in  the  affairs  of 
state,  so  we  find  fewer  female  than  male  figures 
among  these  statues.  Any  reader  can  satisfy 
himself  on  most  of  these  points  by  a  glance  at 
the  specimens  of  these  statues  in  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  at  Washington. 

It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  the  stautes  were 
associated  in  a  certain  way  with  the  worship  of 
the  people,  for  as  in  life  these  exalted  men  and 
women  were  habitually  present  on  public  occa- 
sions, even  if  they  did  not  take  an  active  part 
in  conducting  the  ceremonials,  it  was  natural 
enough  to  suppose  that  they  would  continue  to 
be  present  in  spirit  after  death,  and  so  as  an  act 
of  duty,  if  not  affection,  their  statues  were 
grouped  about  the  places  of  public  worship. 

291 


Subsequently  to  my  visit  a  German  archaeol- 
ogist, said  to  have  been  connected  with  Dr. 
Schlieman's  investigations  at  Majcenal,  made 
some  discoveries  on  the  Island  of  Zapatera, 
which  are  thus  described  by  a  newspaper  cor- 
respondent: "I  reached  a  landing  place,  where 
the  remains  of  a  small  artificial  harbor  are  still 
to  be.  recognized.  I  was  guided  by  an  Indian  to 
a  staircase  hewn  in  huge  rocks.  In  ascending 
the  hill  I  counted  seven  hundred  and  seven 
steps.  Arrived  at  the  top,  I  saw  a  vast  plain, 
in  the  center  of  which  rise  seven  elevations  that 
form  a  Latin  cross. *  These  hills  are  sur- 

*  The  presence  of  the  cross  in  Central  America  greatly  aston- 
ished the  Spanish  discoverers.  In  Yucatan  and  throughout  the 
Aztec  Empire  it  was  the  emblem  of  the  "god  of  rain."  There 
has  been  much  speculation  by  various  authors  respecting  its 
origin,  as  a  religious  emblem,  in  Mexico  and  Central  America. 
It  has  even  been  supposed  that  some  of  the  early  Icelandic 
Christians  of  the  ninth  century  may  have  reached  the  coast  of 
Mexico,  and  introduced  some  knowledge  of  the  Christian 
religion.  But  the  cross  was  a  religious  emblem  of  the  greatest 
antiquity,  both  in  Syria  and  Egypt,  and  baptism  was  a  pre- 
Christian  rite.  This  and  other  observances,  such  as  auricular 
confession  and  monastic  institutions,  were  so  mixed  up  with  the 
worship  of  a  great  number  of  gods,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the 
worship  of  the  sun,  and  were  associated  with  such  horrid  human 
sacrifices  and  pagan  ceremonials,  that  it  is  more  likely  that  they 
acquired  the  cross,  with  other  pagan  traditions  handed  down  to 
them  from  a  remote  antiquity,  from  the  common  stock  from 
whence  both  the  inhabitants  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Hemi- 
spheres were  descended.  There  is  good  evidence  for  supposing 

292 


rounded  by  a  number  of  small  cemeteries,  that 
evidently  contain  the  remains  of  the  victims  * 
sacrificed  to  the  (seven  times  seven)  forty-nine 
idols,  besides  statues  of  priests  and  kings  cut 
out  of  hard,  black,  polished  granite.  The  ele- 
vation that  forms  the  center  of  the  cross  is 
about  twice  the  size  of  the  remaining  six,  and 
is  some  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  On  the  top 
of  it  are  seven  large  sacrificial  stones,  sur- 
rounded by  vessels  into  which,  the  blood  of  the 
victims  ran,  when  the  rites  were  performed.  It 
is  evident  that  on  the  center  hill  the  high 
priests  performed  their  bloody  office,  as  on  the 

that  young  children  were  offered  up  in  sacrifice  to  Tlaloc,  the 
god  of  rain,  the  very  god  whose  emblem  was  the  cross — a  con- 
trast too  great  to  the  "Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me" 
of  the  loving  Saviour,  not  to  make  the  mind  revolt  against  the 
idea  that  the  cross  of  the  god  of  rain  was  derived  from  the  cross  of 
the  Christian.  (Belt,  "Naturalist  in  Nicaragua.") 

*The  correspondent  here  falls  into  a  manifest  error.  The 
bodies  of  persons  sacrificed  were  never  preserved.  We  have 
seen  that  parts  were  given  to  the  king  and  the  nobles  to  be  eaten 
at  their  festival  banquets.  The  remainder  were  fed  to  domestic  an- 
imals kept  in  the  menageries.  The  skulls  of  certain  victims,  prob- 
ably distinguished  captives,  were  inserted  in  curious  figures  into 
the  walls  of  buildings,  the  use  of  which  has  not  been  determined, 
that  surrounded  the  base  of  the  teocalli.  The  cemeteries 
referred  to,  if  cemeteries  they  be,  were  probably  those  in  which 
the  ashes  of  priests  were  deposited.  Further  on  he  makes 
another  error  concerning  the  use  of  horses'  heads  as  helmets. 
The  horse  was  unknown  to  the  Nahuatls  before  the  arrival  of 
of  the  Spaniards.  The  helmets  referred  to  undoubtedly  repre- 
sented the  head  of  some  other  animal. 

293 


smaller    elevations    the    sacrificial   stones   are 
smaller  and  of  inferior  workmanship. 

"The  center  hill  is  adorned  with  seven  huge 
idols,  some  of  them  perfectly  preserved.  The 
principal  one  represents  a  figure  about  fourteen 
feet  high,  showing  a  striking  likeness  to  Assyr- 
ian idols,  and  wearing  a  long  beard  (probably  a 
statue  of  Quetzacoatl,)  on  which  remains  of  red 
coloring  are  still  visible.  The  head  is  covered 
with  a  huge  elephant's  head.  On  one  side  of 
this  rather  hideous  idol  stands  a  female  figure 
of  very  fair  appearance,  whose  features  are 
strikingly  Egyptian.  The  head  is  covered  with 
the  head  of  a  lioness,  the  mouth  is  wide  open. 
On  either  side  is  the  statue  of  a  high  priest, 
whose  headpiece  consists  of  a  big  snake  curled 
up,  fitting  the  grim-looking  face  like  the  turban 
of  an  Eastern  priest;  in  the  right  hand  the  fig- 
ure holds  a  short  knife,  while  the  left  hand 
holds  something  that  looks  like  a  human 
heart.  The  other  idols  represent  both  male  and 
female  figures,  the  former  of  hideous  aspect, 
while  the  latter  present  pleasant  faces.  The 
ears  of  the  female  figures  are  pierced  with 
holes,  which  served  to  hold  earrings,  as  one  of 

294 


these  was  found  buried  in  the  soil.  The  value 
of  the  gold  and  pearls  in  it  amounted  to  sojne 
five  hundred  dollars,  not  including  its  artistic 
and  archaeological  value;  the  workmanship 
was  very  fine.  The  heads  of  all  these  statues 
are  covered  with  monstrous  heads  of  lions,  alli- 
gators, tigers,  horses,  sheep,  and  other  animals, 
the  species  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine. Most  of  the  statues  are  in  a  very  fair 
state  of  preservation,  while  some  have  been 
disfigured  by  shocks  of  earthquakes.  Judging 
from  the  effect  of  the  weather  on  these  idols, 
they  must  be  thousands  of  years  old,  consider- 
ing the  hard  quality  of  the  stone  and  the 
damage  done.  Thanks  to  the  hidden  position 
of  the  place,  it  has  escaped  destruction  by  the 
hands  of  the  fanatical  Spanish  priest.  On 
some  of  the  idols  there  are  hieroglyphic  in- 
scriptions that  have  absolutely  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  the  rude  inscriptions  generally  found 
on  ancient  Indian  remains  in  Central  America. 
"Descending  again  the  artificial  staircase,  I 
remarked  that  it  must  have  been  long  in  use,  as 
it  was  pretty  well  worn  out  by  footsteps.  It 
evidently  led  to  one  of  the  principal  places  of 

295 


worship,  where  masses  of  people  congregated 
during  certain  periods  of  the  year  to  witness 
the  bloody  rites  of  their  priestcraft.  That  the 
place  was  inhabited,  except  perhaps  by  a  few 
guardians,  is  not  probable;*  for  the  surround- 
ings consist  of  barren  rocks,  and  traces  of  habi- 
tations are  not  found. 

"From  this  gloomy  place  I  went  to  a  smaller 
island,  which  certainly  in  times  past  formed  a 
part  of  Zapatera.  On  this  barren  spot,  which 
is  partly  covered  by  volcanic  ashes,  stands  a 
monolith  about  200  feet  in  diameter.  The  top  is 
covered  with  a  variety  of  cabalistic  signs — • 
tigers,  lions,  snakes,  hippopotami,  and  other 
strange  animals— all  hewn  in  the  rock  and  partly 
disfigured  by  the  weather.  Very  remarkable 
are  a  great  many  Latin,  Maltese,  and  Greek 
crosses,  beautifully  worked  and  well  preserved. 
In  the  center  of  the  surface  there  is  a  large, 
stately  figure  of  grim  appearance,  holding  a 
smaller  figure  tight  in  each  hand ;  perhaps  the 
representation  of  a  powerful  chief,  holding  his 

*  The  Island  of  Zapatera  has  long  been  known  as  uninhabited, 
and,  being  a  sacred  place,  probably  never  was  inhabited,  except 
by  priests. 

296 


vanquished  foes.  The  place  is  covered  with 
inscriptions  that  bear  a  great  resemblance  to  the 
ancient  inscriptions  on  the  Island  of  Cyprus. 
Professor  Max  M  tiller,  of  Oxford,  to  whom  some 
fragments  have  been  forwarded,  deems  it  pos- 
sible to  decipher  them." 

The  Nahuatl  sculptors  were  skillful  artists, 
but  they  apparently  strove  to  portray  strength 
rather  than  beauty.  All  of  their  works  display 
power,  but  I  have  not  come  across  one  that 
showed  beauty.  The  same  remark  may  be 
made  of  their  buildings.  This  peculiarity,  I 
think,  expressed  a  trait  of  the  national  char- 
acter. In  their  enduring  works  they  preferred 
the  embodiment  of  strength  to  beauty.  That 
they  were  not  lacking  in  appreciation  of  the 
beautiful  is  shown  by  the  colors  used  in  their 
ideographic  paintings,  the  exquisite  imitations 
in  feather  work  of  birds,  and  the  extraordinary 
love  of  flowers  everywhere  exhibited.  Inas- 
much as  stone  implements  appear  to  have  been 
used  instead  of  metal  instruments,  it  is  difficult 
to  imagine  how  the  sculptors  wrought  such  re- 
sults with  the  means  at  their  disposal.  The 
following  comment  has  been  made  on  the  sub- 

297 


ject  by  an  acute  observer:  "It  must  have  taken 
months,  if  not  years,  to  have  fashioned  the 
statue  I  have  figured  out  of  the  trachyte,  with- 
out tools  of  iron,  and  it  strikes  one  with  won- 
der to  think  of  the  patience  and  perseverance 
with  which  the  details  were  worked  out.  No 
eye-servers  were  these  Indians;  before  and  be- 
hind they  bestowed  equal  pains  and  labor  on 
their  work,  undeterred  by  the  hardness  of  the 
materials  or  the  rudeness  of  their  tools." 

The  pottery  of  the  Nahuatls  deserves  a  pass- 
ing notice.  In  shape  and  character  it  is  the 
same  to-day  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Monte- 
zuma.  The  first  drinking  and  household  ves- 
sels of  the  people  were  made  from  the  hard 
thin  shell  which  incloses  the  fruit  of  the  xicalli 
tree.  This  shell,  in  the  smaller  varieties,  is 
almost  a  perfect  egg  shape,  but  in  the  larger  is 
more  spherical.  In  consequence  of  the  shape 
the  vessels  could  not  stand  unsupported,  and  so 
socketed  rests  of  various  forms  were  made  for 
them.  When  the  people  arrived  at  the  stage  of 
making  earthenware  the  forms  of  the  xicalli 
shells  were  copied,  and  that  necessitated  the 
making  of  stands  also.  In  the  lapse  of  cen- 

298 


turies  no  change  from  those  forms  was  ever 
made.  Pottery  was  made  with  or  without 
enamel,  but  the  enameled  variety  was  probably 
made  only  for  the  use  of  the  wealthy.  This 
variety  was  also  sometimes  ornamented  with 
colors.  The  spouts  and  handles  of  the  vessels, 
as  well  as  the  handles  and  feet  of  the  stands, 
were  frequently  made  in  the  form  of  the  heads 
of  animals.  1  have  the  head  of  an  iguana  de- 
signed for  this  purpose,  which  is  a  marvel  of 
strength  and  expression,  the  attitude  being  one 
of  defiance  or  defense.  The  xicalli  vessels 
were  often  elaborately  carved  with  the  forms 
of  birds,  animals  and  plants,  and  this  ornamen- 
tation was  frequently  reproduced  on  the 
earthenware.  Earthenware  urns  in  the  form  of 
the  human  skull,  containing  the  ashes  of  the 
dead,  have  been  found  on  the  Island  of  Omete- 
pec,  in  Lake  Nicaragua.  Another  article  of 
pottery  made  by  the  Nahuatls  was  a  barnacle- 
shaped  rattle,  with  slot-like  openings  on  the 
sides,  and  containing  a  small  ball,  which  the 
dancing  girls  held  in  their  hands  and  shook  in 
rhythm  with  their  movements. 

The  language  of  the  Aztecs  was  sweet,  har- 

299 


monious,  flexible',  exact,  rich  and  expressive, 
notwithstanding  that  the  alphabet,  as  compared 
with  ours,  was  meager.  It  lacked  the  English 
consonants  b,  d,  f,  g,  j,  k,  r,  s,  and  w,  but  con- 
tained all  the  other  letters,  which,  however, 
excepting  v,  were  pronounced  as  they  are  in 
French.  The  sound  of  o  was  not  well  defined, 
but  it  resembled  the  French  diphthong  eu.  The 
consonants  most  frequently  used  were  1,  t,  x,  z, 
and  the  compound  sounds  tl  and  tz.  L  was 
never  used  at  the  beginning  of  a  word.  There 
were  no  sharp  or  nasal  sounds  in  the  language. 
The  penultimate  syllable  of  almost  all  the 
words  was  long.  The  plural  was  formed  by 
changing  the  termination.  For  example:  in 
substantives  ending  with  tl  these  two  letters 
were  changed  to  me,  thus:  pitzotl  (pig);  pit- 
zome  (pigs).  In  like  manner  the  termination 
hua  was  pluralized  by  que.  It  had  no  genders. 
Mixtli  denoted  lion  as  well  as  lioness.  In  order 
to  distinguish  the  sexes,  .oquichtle  (male)  and 
cihuatl  (female)  were  used,  thus:  oquimixtli 
(lion);  cihuamixtli  (lioness).  It  was  without 
either  comparatives  or  superlatives,  but  in  their 
stead  particles  were  employed.  On  the  other 

300 


hand  it  had  more  diminutives  and  augmenta- 
tives  than  even  the  Italian.  The  substantives 
and  verbs  were  more  numerous  than  in  any 
other  language,  and  each  verb,  by  the  addition 
of  certain  letters,  produced  a  multitude  of  other 
verbs.  The  union  of  simple  words  formed  com- 
pound vocables,  which  were  frequently  veri- 
table definitions  of  the  objects  denoted. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AS    A    WINTER   EESOET. 

NICARAGUA!  Land  of  the  Great  Waterway, 
the  gateway  between  the  oceans!  Land  of 
sunny  skies  and  sparkling  lakes;  of  beautiful 
scenery;  of  mountains  blue  and  verdant  vales; 
of  magnificent  forests  and  flowery  fields;  of 
fruitful  soil  and  innumerable  fruits ;  of  health- 
ful and  delightful  climate ! 

Land  of  unusual  attractions  for  the  winter 
tourist.  The  salubrity  of  the  climate,  were 
there  nothing  else  to  commend  the  country, 
must,  when  it  becomes  easily  accessible  by  the 
completion  of  the  canal,  make  it  a  favorite  win- 
ter resort  for  wealthy  residents  of  the  United 
States  and  also  of  Europe.  Throat  and  pulmo- 
nary affections  are  almost  unknown;  indeed,  I 
do  not  remember  having  heard  a  cough  in  the 
country,  even  in  the  moist  atmosphere  of  the 
Atlantic  coast.  The  dry  atmosphere  of  the 

302 


Pacific  slope,  or  of  the  elevated  tablelands  of 
the  Chontales  and  Matagalpa  districts,  cannot 
fail  to  greatly  benefit  persons  who  suffer  from 
bronchial  and  pulmonary  troubles.  Although 
a  great  sufferer  from  bronchitis  for  years  and 
laboring  under  a  bad  attack  of  it  when  I  left 
New  York,  I  was  entirely  free  from  even  a  sug- 
gestion of  the  disease  during  my  sojourn  on  the 
Pacific  slope.  Fevers,  which  in  the  United 
States  are  supposed  to  be  the  curse  of  that 
country,  are  extremely  rare,  and  it  would  be 
hard  to  find  another  land  in  which  so  little  dis- 
ease of  any  kind  prevails.  But  the  reader  who 
has  followed  me  thus  far  has  already  had  some 
statistical  evidence  on  this  subject. 

The  attractions  are  not,  however,  for  the  in- 
valid alone.  Any  one  who  enjoys  grand  and 
beautiful  scenery  would  be  delighted  with  the 
country.  The  primeval  tropical  forest,  with  its 
gigantic  trees,  its  exuberant  vegetation,  ex- 
quisite forms  and  glowing  colors,  is  a  living 
wonder.  Its  majestic  mountains  and  smoulder- 
ing volcanoes,  with  their  canopies  of  smoke,  lift 
one's  thoughts  to  the  plane  of  sublimity.  The 
simple,  polite  and  fun-loving  people,  their 

303 


strange  and  interesting  mode  of  life,  the  queer 
Spanish  -  American  towns  and  picturesque 
Indian  villages,  will  furnish  no  end  of  entertain- 
ment and  amusement  to  the  pleasure-seeker. 
The  antiquarian  will  find  a  rich  field  for  inves- 
tigation in  the  Toltec  and  Aztec  remains,  the 
forgotten  places  of  worship,  the  overturned  and 
half-buried  statues,  overgrown  sepulchers,  and 
strangely  carved  rocks.  The  student  of  natural 
history  will  find  an  inexhaustible  store  of 
wealth  in  the  wonderful  flora  and  fauna  of  the 
country.  To  the  sportsman  it  is  a  veritable 
''happy  hunting  ground"  below,  stocked  with 
an  astonishing  variety  of  game  both  in  forest 
and  stream,  while  to  the  yachtsman  it  offers 
one  of  the  most  changeful  and  charming  winter 
cruises  to  be  had  anywhere  in  the  world. 

Being  a  bit  of  a  yachtsman  myself,  I  have 
mapped  out  this  cruise,  and  mean  to  take  it 
when  the  canal  is  opened.  Leaving  New  York 
in  a  comfortable  steam  or  sailing  yacht,  early 
in  December,  we  would  touch  at  Bermuda. 
Thence  steering  for  the  Bahamas,  and  taking 
perhaps  a  passing  look  at  the  Hole  in  the  Wall, 
or  a  more  lingering  one  if  the  weather  be  dirty ; 

304 


running  close  enough  to  San  Salvador  to  recall 
the  landing  of  Columbus,  we  would  head  for 
Cape  May  si;  possibly  drop  anchor  for  an  hour 
or  so  at  Baracoa,  to  see  how  the  city  on  the 
mountain  side  has  improved  under  American 
influences.  Next  we  would  take  a  somewhat 
leisurely  look  at  our  newly  acquired  possession, 
Porto  Eico.  Having  done  that  we  would  sail 
close  enough  to  scan  the  bold  headlands  of 
Haiti  and  lay  our  course  for  that  lovely  isle  of 
the  sea,  Jamaica,  and  stretch  our  legs  for  a  day 
or  two  in  quaint  old  Kingston,  where  the  Yan- 
kee bartender  mixes  the  rum-sour  with  divine 
skill.  While  lying  at  anchor  here  we  will  not 
forget  to  cast  a  line  for  the  sportive  king-fish, 
who  is  sure  to  tempt  us  by  leaping  out  of  water 
close  aboard.  The  next  run  would  take  us  to 
Greytown,  giving  of  course  a  wide  berth  to 
Koncador,  destroyer  of  the  noble  old  Kearsarge 
and  many  another  good  ship.  I  have  "touched" 
at  Koncador  and  do  not  care  to  repeat  the  ex- 
periment. But  by  this  time  Uncle  Sam  will 
have  built  a  lighthouse  there  for  the  protection 
of  the  unsuspecting  mariner.  Before  we  come 
to  the  latitude  of  Koncador,  we  will  have  caught 

u  305 


the  northeast  trade  wind ;  this,  if  our  vessel  be 
a  sailer,  will  bowl  us  merrily  under  shortened 
sail  to  Grey  town,  where  we  will  tarry  long 
enough  to  pay  our  respects  to  the  "governor," 
assure  him  that  we  have  nothing  dutiable 
aboard,  and  perhaps  accompany  him  to  a  Sun- 
day cock-fight. 

We  shall  begin  our  trip  through  the  canal  by 
daylight  so  as  to  see  the  grand  avenue  through 
the  forest,  the  foothills  of  the  Cordilleras  at  its 
head;  catch  glimpses  of  glowing  orchids 
against  the  walls  of  green  on  either  hand,  the 
snowy,  saffron  and  purple  domes  of  great 
flowering  trees  in  the  distance,  and  marvel  at 
the  wonderful  luxuriance  and  infinite  variety 
of  vegetable  life.  But  while  our  thoughts  are 
lost  in  contemplation  of  the  affluence  of  nature, 
they  will  be  suddenly  recalled  to  the  masterful 
work  of  man.  At  a  little  more  than  nine  miles 
from  Greytown  we  will  reach  the  entrance  to 
the  first  lock,  which  will  lift  the  great  ships,  on 
their  passage  from  the  east  to  the  west,  thirty 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  Atlantic.  Less  than 
a  rnile  and  a  quarter  further  on,  our  yacht  will 
be  lifted  thirty-one  feet  higher  by  Lock  2,  and 

306 


two  miles  beyond  the  head  of  this,  forty-five 
feet  more  by  Lock  3.  She  will  then  be  float- 
ing 106  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  Atlantic 
and  within  four  feet  of  the  IgyeLqf  Lake  Nica- 
ragua, to  which  she  will  ascend  on  a  gently  in- 
clined plane  of  water.  Emerging  from  Lock  3 
she  will  sail  for  more  than  three  miles  amid  an 
amphitheater  of  hills,  through  the  artificial 
lake  created  by  flooding  the  valley  of  the  De- 
seado,  then  she  will  enter  the  great  eastern 
divide  cut,  a  rift  in  the  backbone  of  the  conti- 
nent, more  than  140  feet  wide,  nearly  three 
miles  long,  and  with  precipitous  sides  in  places 
300  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 

Beyond  the  divide  cut  our  yacht  will  enter 
another  and  more  imposing  artificial  lake, 
formed  by  flooding  the  valleys  of  the  Limpio, 
Chanchos  and  San  Francisco,  surrounded  by  a 
grander  amphitheater  of  hills  overtopped  by 
mountains.  A  twelve-mile  run,  with  booms 
broad  off,  before  the  perennial  trade  wind,  will 
take  us  to  the  noble  San  Juan.  Biver,  arrested 
in  its  flow  and- materially  widened  by  the  great 
dam  at  Ochoa,  to  which  we  will  be  close  enough 
for  a  good  view.  A  short  distance  above  Ochoa 

307 


we  will  come  to  the  mouth  of  the  erstwhile 
rapid  and  turbid  San  Carlos,  now  rendered 
limpid  and  sluggish  by  the  Ochoa  dam,  flowing 
down  from  the  unexplored  mountain  regions  of 
Costa  Rica^  where  strange  tribes  of  Indians  are 
said  to  exist,  and  if  so  inclined,  we  might  run 
some  leagues  up  its"  course  to  satisfy  our  curios- 
ity on  this  and  other  points.  Returning  to  the 
San  Juan,  we  would  follow  its  umbrageous, 
palm-covered  and  liana-festooned  banks  up- 
ward, presently  coming  to  its  debouchment 
from  the  continental  mountain  range,  where,  at 
first  sight,  it  seems  to  flow  out  of  a  cavern. 
Entering  into  the  shadow  of  the  overtowering 
peaks,  however,  we  discover  that  the  river 
makes  a  sharp  bend  to  the  right,  much  like  that 
of  the  Hudson  at  Crow's  Nest,  and  comes 
through  a  wide  gap  in  the  mountains.  The  re- 
mainder of  our  passage  to  the  lake  will  probably 
be  devoid  of  special  interest,  for  we  will  not  be 
bothered  by  the  Machuca  or  the  Toro  rapids, 
where,  in  the  old  transit  days,  both  passengers 
and  freight  had  to  be  transferred  from  steamers 
to  lighters,  which  were  poled  at  the  former  and 
warped  up  stream  at  the  latter.  The  old  town 

308 


of  Castillo,  at  the  foot  of  the  Toro  rapids,  will 
have  disappeared  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
river,  but  perhaps  a  newer  and  more  American 
settlement  will  have  replaced  it  higher  up  the 
hillside,  but  at  any  rate  we  will  gaze  with  in- 
terest at  the  old  Spanish  fort  crowning  the  sum- 
mit of  the  hill,  a  fort  that  the  Spaniards  fondly 
deemed  impregnable  until  the  great  Nelson  re- 
duced it.  Our  voyage  will  not  be  a  lonely  one, 
for  the  argosies  of  the  east  and  of  the  west  will 
be  passing  each  other  at  our  side,  and  the  long 
reigning  solitude  of  the  forest  will  be  broken  by 
the  busy  life  of  commerce;  the  silence  of  the 
ages  by  the  forceful  pulsations  of  the  untiring 
steam  engine. 

At  San  Carlos  we  will  come  to  the  head  of 
the  river,  and  get  our  first  view  of  the  lake. 
There  is  a  high  hill  at  the  termination  of  the 
north  bank  and,  of  course,  an  old  Spanish  fort 
upon  the  crest  of  it.  We  will  find  it  well  worth 
our  while  to  lie  over  here  long  enough  to  get  a 
view  of  the  sunset  from  the  ramparts  of  this 
old  fort.  Few  finer  sights  can  be  had  the  wide 
world  over.  It  is  a  picture  embracing  water, 
mountains  and  an  indescribable  display  of  color. 

311 


Next  morning  we  can  run  over,  still  before  the 
trade  wind,  to  the  volcanic  and  comparatively 
unexplored  Island  of  Solentinama,  surrounded 
by  a  group  of  sister  islets,  almost  due  west, 
glowing  like  an  emerald  in  the  light  of  the  ris- 
ing sun.  If  we  find  nothing  there  to  interest 
us,  we  can  run  over  and  explore  the  western 
shore,  proceeding  leisurely  northward  toward 
Ometepec,  but  keeping  an  eye  to  windward, 
with  a  care  for  our  spars,  for  the  afternoon 
sometimes  brings  dangerous  squalls  to  the  lake, 
and  to  be  caught  unawares  in  one  of  these 
means  disaster.  Ometepec  and  its  twin,  though 
shorter  peak,  Madeira,  with  their  Indian  vil- 
lages and  flourishing  coffee  plantations,  will 
afford  interest  for  two  or  three  days'  sojourn,  if 
not  more,  besides  furnishing  the  archaeologist 
of  the  party  with  abundant  employment.  Fur- 
ther to  the  northward  we  will  raise  the  sacer- 
dotal island  of  Zapatero,  of  which  and  its  relics 
something  was  said  in  the  last  chapter,  but  the 
landing  party  must  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for 
rattlesnakes. 

A  twenty-mile  reach  with  the  wind  slightl}7 
forward  of  the  beam  will  carry  us  from   Zapa- 

312 


tera  to  the  harbor  of  Granada,  where  we  can 
anchor  with  security  in  the  shadow  of  the 
double-headed  volcano  Mombacho.  The  city 
of  Granada,  with  its  unfinished  cathedral,  its 
fine  market  place  and  other  attractions,  will 
probably  claim  our  immediate  attention.  But 
having  seen  the  sights  of  this  typical  Spanish- 
American  town,  and  possibly  a  performance  at 
the  theater  by  a  company  of  strolling  players, 
we  can  choose  between  a  railroad  trip  to  the 
ancient  Indian  city  of  Masaya  and  an  explora- 
tion of  the  wonderful  archipelago  on  the  outer 
side  of  the  harbor.  It  embraces  more  than  600 
islets,  whose  separating  waterways  are  em- 
bowered with  branches  and  festooning  vines, 
and  resplendent  with  flowers  of  different  hues. 
Granada  is  about  twenty  miles  below  the 
head  of  the  lake  where  the  so-called  Rio  Tipi-- 
tapa  brings  down,  during  the  rainy  season,  the 
overflow  of  Lake  Managua.  By  the  terms  of 
the  concession  the  grantees  were  to  build  a  sub- 
sidiary canal  connecting  the  lakes  by  this  pas- 
sage. If  this  be  finished,  we  can  continue  our 
cruise  up  to  the  head  of  Lake  Managua,  so  as  to 
get  a  look  at  that  extraordinary  and  majestic 

313 


volcanic  chain,  the  Marvels,  with  Momotombo 
at  the  near  and  Cosaguina  at  the  farther  end, 
which  is  worthy  to  be  ranked  with  the  Seven 
Wonders  of  the  world.  Keturning,  we  can  fol- 
low the  eastern  shores  of  both  lakes  and  get  a 
fine  view  of  the  lofty,  though  distant,  moun- 
tains of  Matagalpa  and  Chontales.  If  time  per- 
mit, we  can  even  run  across  to  the  westward, 
when  Ornetepec  is  abeam,  and  drop  through  the 
canal  into  the  Pacific  for  a  short  cruise  in  its 
shining  waters.  But  if  inclined  to  sport  we 
may  tarry  in  the  lake  and  find  on  either  shore 
an  abundance  of  large  or  small  game,  with  fish 
of  various  kinds,  without  number,  in  the  lake 
and  its  contributing  streams. 

GUnne  is  very  plentiful  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  on  a  tramp  1  made  through  the 
great  forest,  from  Grey  town  to  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Kiver,  a  distance  of  about  fifty  miles,  I 
expected  to  have  good  sport,  perhaps  kill  a 
jaguar  or  a  puma,  at  least  a  deer  or  a  chanchos 
(wild  hog),  but  the  only  mammals  I  surprised 
was  a  troop  of  big  black  (Congo)  monkeys, 
which,  although  they  often  make  * 'night  hide- 
ous" with  their  roaring,  I  could  not  bring  my- 

314 


self  to  shoot.  There  is  a  large,  yellowish- 
brown,  fruit-eating  monkey  (Ateles),  called  the 
spider  monkey,  which  the  natives  slaughter 
without  compunction  and  prize  highly  as  an 
article  of  food.  For  my  own  part,  however, 
there  is  something  so  nearly  human  about  a 
monkey  that  I  would  almost  as  soon  kill  a  man, 
and  as  for  eating  one,  well,  it  is  possible  that  I 
might  be  driven  to  it  in  the  last  stages  of  star- 
vation. The  white-faced  cebus  monkey  is  also 
plentiful,  but  less  frequently  eaten.  But  while 
I  did  not  find  any  game,  I  used  my  Winchester 
on  one  occasion  with  a  good  deal  of  satisfac- 
tion, and  at  the  same  time  covered  myself  with 
glory  in  the  eyes  of  a  fellow-traveler  of  un- 
blemished African  descent. 

One  day  while  following  a  narrow  trail 
through  underbrush  so  thick  that  it  was  seldom 
possible  to  see  twenty  feet  in  any  direction,  this 
negro,  who  was  a  hundred  yards  or  so  in  ad- 
vance of  me,  began  to  howl  in  the  most  lugu- 
brious manner.  Supposing  the  man  had  injured 
himself  in  some  way,  I  hurried  to  his  assist- 
ance, and  my  surprise  may  be  imagined  when  I 
discovered  him  perched  upon  a  stump,  gesticu- 

315 


lating  wildly,  with  his  eyes  staring  fixedly  at  a 
slight  opening  on  the  left  side  of  the  trail.  My 
first  impression  was  that  the  man  had  suddenly 
gone  mad,  but  when  I  asked  him  what  was  the 
matter,  he  found  voice  to  exclaim:  "Enty  you 
see  dat  snake!"  Following  the  direction  of  his 
eyes  I  saw,  about  twenty  yards  from  me,  a 
large  snake,  apparently  of  the  python  family, 
its  head,  raised  about  four  feet  above  the 
ground,  swaying  slowly  from  side  to  side,  its 
mouth  wide  open  and  its  long  forked  tongue 
darting  viciously  back  and  forth.  The  negro 
was  about  the  same  distance  from  the  reptile  as 
myself,  somewhat  beyond  it,  on  the  line  of  the 
trail,  and  could  easily  have  sought  safety  in 
flight,  which,  however,  did  not  seem  to  have 
occurred  to  him.  In  truth,  he  was  absolutely 
paralyzed  by  terror.  It  was  a  genuine  case  of 
snake-charming. 

"See  me  shoot  his  head  off,"  I  said. 

"Golly,  you  can't  do  dat,"  he  replied,  but 
with  an  evident  expression  of  relief. 

Calculating  the  extent  of  the  oscillation  de- 
scribed by  the  snake's  head  and  taking  the 
median  line,  I  aimed  at  the  junction  of  the  neck 

316 


and  skull.  Of  course  I  expected  to  kill  or  dis- 
able the  snake,  but  not  to  completely  fulfill  my 
promise  to  the  frightened  negro,  so  it  was  a  sur- 
prise to  myself  when,  at  the  crack  of  the  rifle, 
the  creature's  head  dropped  on  one  side,  sus- 
tained only  by  a  shred  of  skin,  while  the  body 
went  into  a  paroxysm  of  wriggling.  The  negro 
leaped  off  his  perch  with  a  shout  of  gladness 
that  made  the  forest  ring.  The  reptile  was 
from  twelve  to  fourteen  feet  in  length,  but  it 
was  not  of  a  venomous  species. 

I  was  not  a  little  surprised  at  first,  that  I  did 
not  find  any  game  on  this  tramp  through  the 
forest,  especially  as  numerous  signs  indicated 
its  presence  in  abundance,  but  I  was  satisfied 
by  reflection  that  our  party  was  too  large;  it 
consisted  of  nearly  forty  persons.  The  noise 
made  in  breaking  our  way  through  the  dense 
underbrush  gave  the  animals  ample  warning  of 
our  coming,  while  the  underbrush  prevented  us 
from  seeing  them  at  any  distance.  Even  the 
most  dangerous  beasts  of  prey  will  slink  away 
from  the  presence  of  man  in  numbers,  and  if 
unmolested  sometimes  from  a  solitary  man. 
Mr.  Belt  relates  an  encounter  with  a  iaguar 

317  — 


which  he  unexpectedly  came  in  contact  with 
while  supposing  he  was  in  pursuit  of  a  tapir. 
The  jaguar  is  the  tiger  of  this  country  and  is 
greatly  dreaded  for  its  ferocity.  As  I  could 
not  improve  on  the  story  I  will  give  it  in  his 
own  language.  "To  my  amazement  out  stalked 
a  great  jaguar  (like  the  housekeeper's  rat,  the 
largest  I  had  ever  seen),  in  whose  jaws  I  should 
have  been  nearly  as  helpless  as  a  mouse  in 
those  of  a  cat.  He  was  lashing  his  tail  at  every 
roar,  showing  his  great  teeth,  and  was  evidently 
in  a  bad  humor.  Notwithstanding  I  was  so 
near  to  him,  I  scarcely  think  he  saw  me  at  first, 
as  he  was  crossing  the  open  glade  about  twenty 
yards  in  front  of  me.  I  had  not  even  a  knife 
with  me  to  show  fight  with  if  he  attacked  me, 
and  my  small  charge  of  shot  would  not  have 
penetrated  beyond  his  skin,  unless  I  managed 
to  hit  him  when  he  was  very  near  to  me.  To 
steady  my  aim  if  he  approached  me,  I  knelt 
down  on  one  knee,  supporting  my  left  elbow 
on  the  other.  He  was  just  opposite  me  at  the 
time,  the  movement  caught  his  eye,  he  turned 
half  round,  put  down  his  neck  and  head  to- 
ward the  ground  as  if  he  was  going  to  spring, 

318 


a    ^ 


iw      r 
BJ      > 


p    > 


and  I  believe  he  could  have  cleared  the  ground 
between  us  at  a  single  bound,  but  the  next 
moment  he  turned  away  from  me,  and  was  lost 
sight  of  among  the'bushes." 

I  did  not  see  any  signs  of  the  jaguar,  but  I 
saw  many  of  the  wari,  or  chanchos,  as  the 
natives  call  them,  wild  hogs  (Dicoteles  tajuca), 
which  is  said  to  be  a  favorite  prey  of  the  jaguar. 
The  wari  goes  in  herds  of  from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  will  assist  each  other  against  the  at- 
tacks of  its  enemy,  but  the  jaguar  is  too  cute 
for  them.  "He  sits  quietly  upon  a  branch  of  a 
tree  until  the  wari  corne  underneath;  then 
jumping  down  kills  one  by  breaking  its  neck; 
leaps  up  into  the  tree  again  and  waits  there 
until  the  herd  departs,  when  he  comes  down 
and  feeds  on  the  slaughtered  wari  in  quiet- 
ness." The  wari  is  said  to  be  an  exceedingly 
good  article  of  food,  so  the  jaguar  must  be  some- 
what of  an  epicure  in  his  way.  I  did  not  hear 
so  much  of  the  puma  as  I  did  of  the  jaguar,  and 
therefore  inferred  that  it  was  less  numerous, 
but  as  it  is  known  throughout  the  length  of  the 
continent  as  the  "mountain  lion,"  it  is  probably 
confined  to  the  mountainous  districts. 

x  321 


Of  other  large  game,  deer  are  plentiful  on 
both  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  slopes.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  Eivas,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
lake,  they  are  abundant,  while  in  some  parts  of 
Chontales,  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake,  they 
are  so  numerous  that  it  is  necessary  to  build 
stockades  to  keep  them  out  of  the  cornfields. 
Belt  tells  a  queer  story  of  a  hunter  in  the  Se- 
govia district,  near  the  Honduras  border,  who 
had  a  trained  ox.  He  drove  the  ox  into  the 
woods  or  fields,  and  whenever  that  faithful  ani- 
mal saw  a  deer  he  began  to  browse  and  grad- 
ually approach  the  deer.  The  hunter  following 
close  behind  the  ox  easily  got  within  range  of 
the  deer,  and  thus  usually  killed  two  whenever 
he  went  out  hunting.  Oscelots  are  frequently 
found  in  regions  east  of  the  lakes,  also  pisotis,  a 
raccoon-like  animal  hunting  in  packs  for  birds' 
nests  or  iguanas.  The  prairie  wolf,  coyote, 
coyotl  of  the  Aztecs,  is  found  in  packs  upon 
the  tablelands  and  hilltops  of  Chontales  and 
Matagalpa,  the  tapir  in  the  valleys.  The 
guatuse  (pronounced  watusa),  an  animal  with 
reddish  brown  fur,  about  the  size  of  a  hare,  but 
shaped  more  like  a  pig,  is  very  abundant  all 

322 


over  the  country  and  highly  esteemed  for  the 
table.  I  had  a  taste  of  it,  and  must  add  my 
approval  of  the  native  estimation. 

Alligators  are  numerous  in  the  lower  San 
Juan  and  the  lagoons  thereabouts  and  also  in 
Lake  Nicaragua.  They  are  said  to  be  plentiful 
throughout  the  river's  length,  but  1  saw  only 
one  between  the  mouth  of  the  San  Francisco 
and  the  lake.  That  was  at  the  Toro  rapids, 
and  was  a  monster.  The  head  alone  seemed  to 
be  fully  six  feet  in  length,  and  the  whole  body 
could  not  have  been  less  than  twenty-five  feet 
long.  The  snouts  of  these  alligators  are  more 
pointed  than  those  of  the  animal  found  in  the 
southern  parts  of  the  United  States.  On  the 
highlands  the  iguana,  a  gigantic  lizard  from  a 
few  inches  to  several  feet  in  length,  having  con- 
siderable resemblance  to  the  alligator,  is  very 
abundant.  It  lives  in  holes  in  dry  soil  and  is 
frequently  to  be  seen  about  human  habitations, 
running  about  on  low  roofs  and  stone  walls.  It 
is  extremely  quick  in  its  movements.  The 
natives  eat  it  when  they  cannot  get  anything 
better,  and  are  said  to  relish  it.  The  meat  is 
white  and  not  uninviting  in  appearance. 

323 


Birds  are  extraordinarily  numerous,  and 
among  them  some  very  fine  varieties  of  game 
birds.  The  chief  of  these  is  the  curassow,  of 
which  there  are  several  species.  Mr.  Belt  found 
''the  fine  curl-crested  curassow  (Or ax  globicera), 
as  large  as  a  turkey,  jet  black,  excepting  under- 
'  neath,"  in  the  forests  about  Santo  Domingo,  in 
the  Chontales  district.  "This  kind  would 
always  take  to  the  trees,  and  was  easy  to  shoot, 
and  as  good  eating  as  it  was  noble  in  appear- 
ance. The  female  is  a  very  different  looking 
bird  from  the  male,  being  of  a  fine  brown  color. 
Dr.  Sclater,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Zoologi- 
cal Society  of  London,  June  17,  1873,  stated 
that  in  the  South  and  Central  American  species 
of  Crax  there  is  a  complete  gradation  from  a 
species  in  which  the  sexes  scarcely  differ, 
through  others  in  which  they  differ  more  and 
more,  until  in  Crax  globicera  they  are  quite 
distinctly  colored,  and  have  been  described  as 
different  species.  The  natives  call  them 
'pavones,'  and  often  keep  them  tame;  but  1 
never  heard  of  them  breeding  in  confinement. 
Another  fine  game  bird  is  a  species  of  penelope, 
called  by  the  natives  'pavos.'  It  feeds  on  the 

324 


fruits  of  trees,  and  I  never  saw  it  on  the  ground. 
A  similar,  but  much  smaller  bird,  called  'cha- 
chalakes,'  is  often  met  with  in  the  low  scrub." 

Mr.  Belt  also  mentions  mountain  hens  (species 
of  Tinamus],  about  the  size  of  a  plump  fowl, 
tasting  like  the  pheasant;  two  species  of  grouse, 
and  a  ground  pigeon,  all  palatable,  as  not  un- 
common in  the  same  locality.  I  did  not  hear  of 
any  quail,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  come  across 
any  mention  of  them  in  the  books,  but  as  there 
are  at  least  two  species  in  California,  where  the 
fauna  is  in  many  respects  similar,  they  are 
probably  also  to  be  found  in  Nicaragua. 

Ducks  of  various  kinds  are  found  on  the 
lakes  in  large  quantities.  The  most  notable 
varieties  are  the  muscovy  and  a  small 
whistling  duck,  about  the  size  of  the  blue- 
wing  teal,  which  is  extremely  good 
eating.  White  egrets  and  several  beautiful 
species  of  cranes  also  abound,  and  have  their 
roosting  places  on  the  small  islands.  Many 
species  of  waders  frequent  the  shores  of  the 
lakes  and  the  river  .banks.  One  of  these  is  the 
hour  bird,  elsewhere  spoken  of,  a  bird  some- 
what larger  than  the  jack-snipe.  On  the  banks 

325 


of  the  San  Juan  I  saw  numbers  of  a  very  beau- 
tiful snipe,  shaped  much  like  the  English  snipe, 
but  smaller  and  of  more  showy  plumage.  It 
went  in  pairs  and  had  a  singularly  graceful  way 
of  holding  its  wings  aloft  for  a  second  or  two 
after  lighting.  Bitterns  of  different  sizes, 
among  them  a  large  brown  fellow,  are  common. 
Of  birds  desirable  for  their  plumage  alone,  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  mention:  the  vulture;  sev- 
eral species  of  eagle,  including  a  large  black 
and  white  one  that  is  said  to  prey  on  the  spider 
monkey;  the  splendid  macaw  of  various  and 
gaudy  attire ;  parrots  of  many  sizes  and  different 
coloring;  trogons,  toucans.  There  is  an  im- 
mense number  of  other  birds,  but  these  are  of 
interest  to  the  naturalist  rather  than  the  sports- 
man. The  quesal,  or  royal  bird  of  the  Aztecs 
(Trogon  resplendens),  is  said  to  be  still  found 
occasionally  in  the  forests  of  Segovia. 

The  sportsman  who  contemplates  a  visit  to 
Nicaragua  will  not  expect  immunity  from 
troublesome  insects,  but  these  are  not  more 
numerous  than  in  some  parts  of  our  own  coun- 
try. The  forest  is  singularly  free  from  mos- 
quitoes and  stinging  flies.  They  may  be  more 

326 


dant,  however,  in  other  localities  that  I 
ot  visit,  or  in  the  same  place  at  a  different 
»n.  The  "jigger,"  a  peculiar  insect  that  at- 
j  the  foot  and  burrows  under  the  skin  of 
ole,  where  it  deposits  its  eggs  and  becomes 
rce  of  great  discomfort,  is  said  to  abound 
e  neighborhood  of  Greytown,  but  I  escaped 
rsonal  acquaintance  with  it.  Two  of  our 
r,  however,  were  less  fortunate,  but  the 
e  attendants,  who  are  exceedingly  expert 
tecting  and  cutting  out  the  insect,  gave 
speedy  relief.  Probably  the  most  trouble- 
insect  in  the  country  is  the  "garrapatos," 
;k.  It  is  of  all  sizes,  from  an  almost  invisi- 
fcom  to  the  dimensions  of  a  pea,  and  the 
ler  sizes  are  the  more  tormenting,  for  they 
he  more  difficult  to  get  rid  of.  Ticks*,  how- 
are  most  numerous  on  the  tablelands, 
e  forests  along  the  San  Juan  we  were  not 
)led  with  them. 

e  insect  most  dreaded  in  that  forest  is  the 
itor  ant,  a  great  black  specimen,  more  than 
ich  in  length,  who  struts  with  pugnacious 
over  logs  and  trunks  and  branches  of 
,.  Its  bite  is  more  serious  and  painful  than 

327 


the  sting  of  the  wasp,  or  even  of  the  scorpion. 
It  is  ever  ready  to  bite,  and  will  continue  to  bite 
until  it  is  shaken  off.  It  is  said  that  a  single 
bite  of  this  insect  on  the  finger  will  cause  the 
arm  to  swell  to  the  shoulder,  besides  producing 
temporary  partial  paralysis  of  the  limb.  Men 
accustomed  to  the  forest  will  never  put  their 
hands  on  a  log  or  bush  without  looking  out  for 
these  fellows. 

Nowhere  on  earth,  I  think,  will  the  angler 
find  better  sport  than  in  Nicaragua.  Off  the 
beach  at  Greytown  he  can  catch  the  powerful 
and  fierce  barracouta,  varying  from  four  to  six 
feet  in  length  and  weighing  between  100  and 
200  pounds.  It  is  a  long,  comparatively  slender 
fish,  steely  blue  on  the  back  and  sides,  silver 
on  the  belly,  with  jaws  like  the  bill  of  a  duck, 
armed  above  and  below  with  a  row  of  broad, 
separated  teeth  more  than  an  inch  long.  He  is 
said  to  be  the  terror  even  of  the  shark.  On 
the  line  he  is  a  magnificent  fighter,  making  long 
and  rapid  runs.  Then  there  is  the  red  snapper, 
sometimes  exceeding  twenty  pounds  in  weight, 
not  so  gamy,  but  far  more  palatable,  and  a 
great  variety  of  other  edible  and  gamy  fish.  I 

328 


saw  a  seine  hauled  off  the  beach  one  day  and 
was  astonished  at  the  number  and  variety  of 
fish  taken,  many  of  which  I  had  never  before 
seen  or  heard  of.  The  most  highly  esteemed 
fresh  water  fish  is  the  juapoti  (pronounced 
wah-po-ti),  which  resembles  in  appearance  and 
size  the  black  bass,  but  is  far  better  to  eat. 
The  saballetta,  a  silvery  fish  shaped  like  the 
striped  bass,  is  a  very  gamy  fellow,  reaching 
five  to  six  pounds  in  weight,  who,  when  hooked, 
will  leap  out  of  the  water  and  endeavor,  often 
with  success,  to  shake  the  hook  out  of  his 
mouth.  He  is,  however,  rather  bony  and  not 
highly  regarded  as  a  food  fish. 

But  the  game  fish  par  excellence  of  the 
fresh  water  is  the  "savalo-real/1  or  tarpon, 
which  fairly  swarms  in  the  river  and  lake,  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  the  San  Juan  Eiver 
and  Lake  Nicaragua  are  the  principal  breeding 
places  of  this  fish,  and  that  it  is  a  mere  migra- 
tory visitant  to  our  coast.  Wherever  there  is  a 
shoal  place  in  the  river  it  is  to  be  seen  breaking 
by  the  hundreds,  and  at  the  Toro  Eapids,  above 
Castillo,  they  are  so  numerous  that  they  fre- 
quently jump  into  the  boats  ascending  or  de- 

329 


scending.  As  many  as  five,  measuring  from 
four  to  six  feet  in  length,  have  been  known  to 
jump  into  a  boat  on  one  trip  down  the  rapids, 
which  are  only  fifteen  miles  long.  They  are 
apt  to  bite  the  occupants  of  the  boat  or  injure 
them  by  floundering  about,  and  so  a  boatman 
usually  stands  ready,  armed  with  a  machete,  to 
cut  their  heads  off  as  soon  as  they  strike  the 
dec'k.  They  are  not  esteemed  for  eating,  and  so 
nobody  attempts  to  catch  them.  My  own 
tackle  was  not  suitable  for  handling  them,  and 
I  could  not  procure  any  other  in  the  country,  so 
I  did  not  try  to  land  one,  but  I  feel  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying  that  grand  sport  awaits  any 
angler  who  will  go  there  prepared  for  it. 

It  was  amusing  to  see  the  astonishment  and 
interest  my  fishing  tackle  excited  among  the 
natives.  Evidently  they  never  had  seen  any- 
thing like  it  before,  and .  yet  it  consisted 
merely  of  an  ordinary  black  bass  bait  rod  of 
lance-wood,  three-jointed,  and  about  twelve 
ounces,  with  a  brass  reel  to  fit,  carrying  about 
150  feet  of  twelve  thread-linen  line.  Both  on 
the  river  and  lake,  indeed,  wherever  I  used  it, 
it  elicited  the  greatest  wonder  and  admiration. 

330 


I  had  more  Spanish  talked  at  me  concerning 
it,  most  of  which,  by  the  way,  I  did  not  under- 
stand, than  about  any  other  subject.  And  it 
was  simply  delightful  to  see  the  boyish  interest 
that  the  spectators  took  in  my  sport.  More 
than  once  while  playing  a  heavy  fish,  eager 
hands  attempted  to  take  hold  of  the  line  in  an 
altogether  kindly  disposition  to  render  me  as- 
sistance. And  how  injured  they  were  when  I 
gently  checked  them.  It  was  impossible  to 
make  those  simple  souls  understand  that  the 
zest  of  the  sport  was  found  in  giving  the  fish  a 
run  for  his  life. 

I  have  endeavored  to  give  the  reader  a  some- 
what entertaining  account  of  a  country  that  in- 
terested me  exceedingly,  coupled  with  some 
useful  hints  for  his  guidance,  should  he  be  at 
any  time  disposed  to  visit  it,  and  having  done 
that  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  I  will  bid  him 
"good-day,"  after,  as  the  actors  say,  thanking 
him  for  his  attention. 


APPENDIX. 


IN   THE  SENATE  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

DECEMBER  18,  1899. 

Mr.  SULLIVAN  introduced  the  following  bill ;  which  was  read  twice 
and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Interoceanic  Canals. 

JANUARY  16,  1900. 

Reported  by  Mr.  MORGAN,  with  amendments. 
FEBRUARY  13,  1900. 


A  BILL 

To  provide  for  the  construction  of  an  interoceanic 
canal  connecting  the  waters  of  the  At- 
lantic  and  Pacific   oceans. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represent- 
atives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  as- 
sembled. 

That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be,  and  is 
hereby,  authorized  to  acquire  from  the  States  of  Costa 
Rica  and  Nicaragua,  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  United 
States,  control  of  such  portion  of  territory  now  belong- 
ing to  Costa  Rica  and  Nicaragua  as  may  be  desirable 
and  necessary  on  which  to  excavate,  construct,  and  de- 
fend a  canal  of  such  depth  and  capacity  as  will  be  suf- 

333 


ficient  for  the  movements  of  ships  of  the  greatest  ton- 
nage and  draft,  from  a  point  near  Grey  town,  on  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  via  Lake  Nicaragua,  to  Brito,  on  the 
Pacific  Ocean ;  and  such  sum  as  may  be  necessary  to 
secure  such  control  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any 
money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

SEC.  2.  That  when  the  President  has  secured  full 
control  over  the  territory  in  section  one  referred  to  he 
shall  direct  the  Secretary  of  War  to  excavate  and  con- 
struct a  canal  and  water  -  way  from  a  point  on  the 
shore  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  near  Greytown,  by  way  of 
Lake  Nicaragua,  to  a  point  near  Brito,  on  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Such  canal  shall  be  of  such  capacity  and  depth 
that  it  may  be  used  by  vessels  of  the  largest  tonnage 
and  greatest  depth,  and  shall  be  supplied  with  all  neces- 
sary locks  and  other  appliances  to  meet  the  necessities 
of  vessels  passing  from  Greytown  to  Brito;  and  the 
Secretary  of  War  shall  also  construct  such  safe  and 
commodious  harbors  at  the  termini  of  said  canal,  and 
such  fortifications  for  the  defense  of  the  canal,  as  will 
be  required  for  the  convenience  and  safety  of  all  vessels 
desiring  the  use  of  said  canal. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  President  shall  cause  such  survey 
as  may  be  necessary  for  said  canal  and  harbors,  and  in 
constructing  the  same  he  may  employ  such  persons  as 
he  may  deem  necessary. 

SEC.  4.  That  in  the  excavation  and  construction  of 
said  canal  the  San  Juan  River  and  Lake  Nicaragua,  or 
such  parts  of  each  as  may  be  made  available,  shall  be 
used. 

SEC.  5.  That  in  any  negotiations  with  the  States  of 
Costa  Rica  or  Nicaragua  the  President  may  have  the 
President  is  authorized  to  guarantee  to  said  States  the 

334 


Use  of  said  canal  and  harbors,  "upon  such  terms  as  may 
be  agreed  upon,  for  all  vessels  owned  by  said  States  or 
by  citizens  thereof. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  forty  mil- 
lion dollars,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  is 
hereby  appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated,  for  the  completion  of  the 
work  herein  authorized,  said  money  to  be  drawn  from 
the  Treasury  from  time  to  time,  as  the  same  shall  be 
needed,  upon  the  direction  of  the  President  based  on 
estimates  made  and  verified  by  the  chief  engineer  in 
charge  of  the  work  and  approved  by  the  Secretary  of 
War. 

Amend  the  title  so  as  to  read :  "  A  bill  to  provide  for 
the  construction-  of  a  canal  connecting  the  waters  of 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans." 


THE  END 


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